


Worship The Flame

by spookypalace



Category: Grey's Anatomy
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M, kind of, lovers to friends to soulmates sorta thing
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-08
Updated: 2021-01-29
Packaged: 2021-03-12 06:29:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 34,017
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28631031
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spookypalace/pseuds/spookypalace
Summary: Jo peaks a look at him once or twice as he’s ordering a list of drinks, she’s certain he catches her as pink lips curve into a smirk. Brown eyes meet for a final time before he steps away, and she wonders—maybe her dry spell would end.---Or the one where Jo meets Alex in a bar, during her final year of med school.
Relationships: Alex Karev/Jo Wilson
Comments: 13
Kudos: 51





	1. Chapter 1

“Are you sure you can’t get the night off?” Lexie Grey pouted as she nursed the vodka soda that her best friend, Jo Wilson, had made her ten minutes earlier. Her expression made Jo wonder if she had already had one or two too many. “You’re a student, you are supposed to be broke.” 

Jo raised her eyebrows as she threw a look over her shoulder, hands absently pouring shots of Tequila for another customer. “I’m broke whether I work tonight or not,” she answered, laughing when her friend rolled her eyes and stuck out her tongue. Serious – did Lexie forget her financial situation after a few drinks. “I’m only here until, like, eleven, Lex. I’ll have time for a round.” 

Lexie huffed. “You never finish on time, eleven will be two,” she retorted. She then moved to the bar stool that was closer to where Jo currently stood behind the bar, watching her as she served her customer and deposited their money into the register. “You sure you don’t want to trade in the life of an over-worked waitress for a fun-loving college student?” 

“I’m sure, Lexie.” Jo told her with a roll of her dark eyes, wiping down the counter of where her messy friend had just moved from. She had been working at this particular bar since her first year of med school, so whilst it had become tiring, she still needed the cash that the job brought in. “It’s our final year of school – I need to make sure I can pay our rent,” Jo added with a laugh, knowing Lexie wasn’t all too happy that Jo had spent most of their college experience working behind her favourite bar. Even if she knew Jo had no choice. 

Lexie let out a defeated sigh before pointing at Jo with a drunken gaze. “Just don’t let them bully you into working late again, alright? Your boss treats you like crap – don't let him make your final months of school hell.” 

Jo grinned, she couldn’t keep the amusement from her face, Lexie tended to get a little overprotective when she was drunk. “I promise.” 

Jo knew some of Lexie’s concerns weren’t unwarranted – her boss and her colleagues, a group of five guys, had some habits of talking down to her where they may or may not work her to the point, she was exhausted and was barely able to complete important schoolwork. It wasn’t too serious of a problem though – come hand in date, her almost perfect work was always on the professor’s desk. But Jo was hoping her shift wouldn’t run over this time. She was looking forward to spending some time with Lexie and some of their other friends once her shift was over. 

A couple of hours later Jo was rushed off her feet whilst the bar got busier and busier and her friends occupied one of the booths in the back corner. “When are you gonna’ finish, Jo?” Her friend, Stephanie Edwards, questioned as Jo was whirling past their table. 

“Billy is taking over my shift in, like,” she glances down at the watch that graced her wrist, “twenty minutes ago.” Jo answered, a sad smile on her lips as she leaned across the table to grab empty glasses and bottles. It wasn’t unusual for one of the guys to be late, but the place had been so busy that she hadn’t even realised that her shift was over. 

“I could just, like, pummel Billy,” Lexie slurred as she gulped down the remnants of another vodka soda, dark brown bangs swooping across her forehead and almost covering her eyes. One look at Lexie and you would never be able to tell she was in her final year of med school, since she skipped a grade or two, she looked noticeably younger than the rest of the girls at the table. “He would deserve it.” 

Jo smirked, grabbing the final glass between her thumb and pointer thing when the sound of the familiar voice of her boss calls out her name, she sends a final grin to the girls and promises to join them soon before worming her way back to behind the bar. “Billy’s running late, I need you to stay until he gets here,” her boss mumbles whilst serving customers. 

“No problem.” Jo responds just as un-enthusiastically right as two more customers show up on the other side of the bar. The two males greeted Jo with brief smiles before they began to relay their hefty order, gaze following her as she pulled pints and mixed spirits. 

Once Jo was finished with the drinks and grabbing the cash from one of the guys hands, they asked if she could help them take the drinks over to their booth, she agreed although not hesitantly, wondering why they couldn’t have just made two trips. Jo follows them across the bar, coming to a stop in front of a booth the men had just joined, it was full, four males and two women. “Just place them anywhere,” the guy who had been at the bar murmurs, quiet enough for only Jo to hear as the rest of the group carried on conversation. 

Jo shot him a look, though nodded while smiling as the first guy took the drinks from Jo’s hands and passed them along the table. Jo had seen some of their faces before, some of them were regulars—two of them in particular, but she never learnt any names of the people that came into the bar. She was only here to do her job, collect her pay-check and hopefully get back to her apartment at a reasonable time. 

Jo had started working at the bar back in first year, before she met Lexie and was living in a dangerous part of the city unable to afford anywhere a little nicer. It wasn’t until her first couple of months at school that she met Lexie, but then, after saving her money and growing incredibly close she and Lexie decided to move in together, so they were closer to both their campus and the bar. Thankfully, they didn’t disagree all that much as they were in the same classes so unless Jo was in work they were always together, but there were still moments where the two of them would argue about the smallest of things. Sometimes Jo left an empty carton of milk in the fridge and other times, Lexie refused to pick up her dirty washing after getting changed. It was always easily resolved, but it nearly always gave her a migraine. 

Fortunately, they didn’t let whatever problems they have with living together get in between them remaining great friends. They both wanted to become surgeons and Lexie’s father sometimes visited the pair to share exciting stories about the profession, it made them both extremely happy to know how close they were getting to finally becoming doctors. 

“Here,” one of the guys, she had followed from the bar places a twenty-dollar bill in her hand, smiling sincerely before sending her a wink. “Don’t work too hard.” 

Jo was hesitant to accept the tip, the smile the man had offered her seemed to have something behind it. Not to mention the wink, he was overtly flirting with her. The guy was attractive, if not a little too old for her; his hair was slightly graving at the edges and his beard framed his face – blue eyes sparkling up at her as she thanked him. “Really, Mark?” A feminine voice chides the man, shooting a pointed look at not just him, but also Jo. “Ignore him.” The dark-haired Latina woman that sat opposite him tells her, glaring at her friend. 

“You got it.” Jo grinned, albeit fake, before whirling around and making her way back towards where came from. She couldn’t shake the feeling that a pair of eyes were watching her as she retreated. 

With the appearance of Billy and one final order to be served, Jo ’s friends eagerly awaited the arrival of the missing member of their group. She began to see to the customer, pleased to learn he only required one bottle of beer—she made quick work of serving them, hoping her heinous boss wouldn’t pop back in to give her another task. Luckily, she was able to rid herself of her apron and avoid making small talk with Billy without any sighting of the boss. 

Jo grabbed for bottles of beer from the fridge, placing the twenty-dollar tip she had earned from her flirty customer on the counter besides Billy—who raised an eyebrow at her quizzically. She shrugged, ignoring his silent questioning and made her way towards her friends who cheered at the sight of her, they were especially louder due to the four beverages she held in her dainty hands. Music, which Jo had ignored whilst working, played throughout the booth as her friends giggled and thanked her. 

“So, Leah, you excited to start teaching in the fall?” Jo questioned, leaning back in the booth, bottle tipping against her pink plump lips as she looked at the blue-eyed girl in the seat opposite of her. 

Leah grinned at Jo over her own beer. “Oh, yeah, definitely.” Since all of them, would be done with college and med-school within a couple of months, they were going to be taking the next step in adult life. Leah Murphy was doing so by acquiring a teaching job at one of the local high schools. She’s always wanted to be an English literature teacher, and someone who was as much of a know-it-all as Leah was, was the perfect kind of person to work that job, in both Jo and Lexie’s opinion. “Those tenth graders won’t know what’s ‘boutta hit ‘em.” 

Lexie and Jo laughed at that, and Jo was glad that Leah was excited about her new job prospect. Whilst the blonde had her moments of insufferable-ness, Jo believed she wasn’t all bad. She had her moments. They had met Leah at this very bar about two years ago, they had all been drunk when exchanging numbers, but the drunken friendship just seemed to stick. Leaning against the seat, Jo tilted her head back and closed her eyes, already she felt relaxed, letting go of the stress that stuck through during work and the school year. Being in med-school consisted her taking so many courses in the field which meant lots of reading material and papers to write, and while Jo loved reading, she was really looking forward to taking a break tonight. Something about reading the boring side of medicine really dampened her mood. 

As the song turned into a Blink-182 one, Jo was beginning to think that Stephanie had a hand in the songs which played on the juke box, the curly-haired woman spoke up, “I can’t wait for spring break,” Jo noticed how tired Stephanie looked after non-stop work for the past couple of months, though there was a slight glimmer in her eyes as she spoke of their one week break that was coming up. 

Jo let out a small gasp, sitting up while exclaiming, “Me too! I think I have a few days off from here, too.” 

Though Jo wasn’t looking at Lexie’s face, she could hear the smile in her voice as she asked, “How many days off are you going to spend studying?” 

“None.” Jo frowned; three pairs of raised eyebrows being shot her way. With a huff, Jo shrugs innocently, “one or two, maybe.” 

Lexie and Stephanie burst into giggles, whilst Leah just smirked. “Yeah, right.” Stephanie commented through the giggles, sharing glances across the table with Lexie. They loved Jo, but she was ridiculously devoted to studying and working – they just wished she spent more time enjoying her personal life. The pair had only recently brought up the fact that Jo hadn’t even dated since her last serious boyfriend; which was a rather long time ago now. 

There had been guys, but none that Jo let hang around long enough to see what her bedroom looked like in daylight. Which was fine for her, she had been burned badly the last time she let someone close enough for her walls to begin tumbling down, she wouldn’t make the same mistake twice. Her friends respected that, but they still believed their friend would be a little less wound up if she got laid more often. 

Four months, six days, and twelve hours—Lexie had lovingly reminded her just this morning. 

Jo sighs, impressively finishing off her still full beer in only a matter of seconds. “I need to catch up, another one?” She asks, not waiting for a response as she climbs out of the booth, walking until she’s now in front of the bar, her elbows leaning against the counter as she presses her front into the wooden bar. 

“They let you escape.” A hoarse voice grabs her attention, Jo’s head tilting towards the direction it came from. 

She recognises him, at first it takes her a moment to think of where from—but then she remembers the booth she had served not too long ago, the one which tipped her twenty dollars. This guy wasn’t one of the ones which had ordered the drinks or offered her the money, he was one of the guys who was sat at the booth when she got there. 

He smirks, holding out his hand in front of her, “Alex.” 

For a split second, Jo’s eyes trail up from his hand and to his face. 

Alex was dark, his jawline sharp with a five o’clock shadow decorating his face. His hair was short and the smirk that he wore on his lips was charming, if not confident. The dark gray long-sleeved t-shirt he wore highlighted his muscular arms, and his slim yet toned upper body. It was obvious this guy was into his sports, or working-out, but not enough to go crazy. He was attractive, and she felt body reacting to him more than it had when his friend shot her a similar smirk earlier. 

“Jo,” she grins at him, placing her hand into his and offering him a small and dainty shake. 

When Alex held onto Jo’s hand for a moment too long, she raised her eyebrows slightly, dark brown eyes looking at his from across the bar—his staring her down, as if challenging her. He let go of Jo’s hand, putting his into the air to call for Billy as she wondered if him holding her hand was intentional. Or maybe she was thinking too much into it—she had the tendency to overthink the smallest of things—so she just turned her gaze back to the alcohol that decorated the back wall. 

Jo peaks a look at him once or twice as he’s ordering a list of drinks, she’s certain he catches her as the smirk stays etched onto his face. As their eyes meet for a final time before she steps away, she wonders—maybe her dry spell would end. 

It didn’t take all too long for Jo to catch up her friends' level of drunk state, and after informing them of the hot stranger at the bar they had spent most of the night slipping in snarky remarks about how Jo was certainly getting laid later. A flush rising to her cheeks when she noticed that Alex had moved closer to their table, playing darts with two of his friends. 

Leah was the first to leave, moaning about some test she had on Monday, then Stephanie was grabbing her purse and dramatically yawning at Jo and Lexie—insisting she had to be up early in the morning to help her semi-boyfriend with something or another. 

In the end, it was just the two of them, which was something they were used to by now. Although Lexie had been spending an increasingly amount of her time, since the other girls left, exchanging texts with the guy she had been seeing who had just started his internship at Seattle Mercy West hospital. Jo hadn’t met the guy but she had heard him through the thin walls of the apartment. 

So, Jo wasn’t all that surprised when Lexie lifted her head from her phone to shoot her an apologetic look, “are you ready to leave?” 

“Erm …" Jo begins, her voice drifting off as her eyes scan across the almost empty bar, landing on the guy who had been occupying her thoughts since the moment he introduced himself. She guesses he can feel the weight of her eyes staring him down as he turns in her direction, that stupid smirk back on his face as he offers her a small wave. “You go.” Jo tells Lexie, whose eyebrows furrow in confusion—that is until she follows Jo’s wandering gaze, understanding completely when they settle on the tan male playing darts. 

“Are you sure?” Lexie asks, stepping out of the booth slowly, just incase Jo changes her mind. At her friend's nod, Jo looks between the pair who couldn’t seem to keep their eyes off one another, “you’ll call once you’re done, right?” 

Jo appreciated the way Lexie cared about her, despite being friends for a couple of years now it still wasn’t something Jo was entirely used to. Growing up completely alone Jo had found that most people were only nice for self-gain, not Lexie, though—it took Jo a long time, but she realised Lexie only wanted what was best for her, and Jo wanted the same for Lexie. 

Satisfied with Jo’s promise to call, Lexie firmly nods and begins to make her way to the exit, not leaving before she points at Jo with an I'm-watching-you gesture, something which made Jo giggle. 

The flicker of excitement that flashed across Jo’s face wasn’t missed by Lexie as she turned around to face exit the bar. “Come on, Jo,” she whispers through gritted teeth, attempting to find the confidence to approach the guy. A feeling of uneasiness was swimming in her belly as she got up from her seat and stepped towards the guy who had been raking his eyes across her body the entire night, thankful his friends had disappeared off somewhere. 

Jo places a small hand onto Alex’s hard shoulder, surprising him. Reaching up onto her tiptoes so her lips could align with his ear, she whispers, “woman’s bathroom.” 

Alex’s right eyebrow twitched slightly at her words; the movement so subtle but Jo had caught it as Alex’s throat tightened—the feeling of her warm breath against his neck doing something to him. He knew it probably isn’t the best idea, hooking up with a woman he didn’t know in the bathroom of his local bar, but he hadn’t been able to tear his eyes off her from the moment she served him. Jo’s sultry voice had an effect on him he couldn’t explain, and Alex didn’t have to think twice as his feet began to follow her towards the bathroom. 

He watches as she rounds the corner, turning to lean back against the wall as she stared up at him. Jo’s own pouty lips were formed into an innocent smirk, which Alex didn’t think was even a thing until he saw her do it. He suddenly felt his jeans constricting him when he took in the tight black jeans, she wore that hugged her body in all the right ways and tantalizingly showed off her legs, along with her denim jacket. Alex found himself stepping and leaning closer to Jo when his eyes landed on her mouth. 

He couldn’t help himself, and Jo made no move to stop him as Alex’s hands shot out of his pockets and cupped her cheeks, giving Jo no time to adjust as his lips pressed against hers without warning. She didn’t care the slightest, head tilted upwards to meet Alex’s searing kiss as her heart did the familiar leap in her chest as Alex’s lips pulled her lower one into a sucking, toe curling kiss. 

Her hands gripped and curled around his t-shirt as she pulled him impossibly closer, blindly stepping so her back was flat against the wall and Alex pressed his front against hers. The already muffled music might as well have been non-existent in Alex and Jo’s ears as their kiss deepened, alcohol infused tongues coming together yet neither caring the slightest. 

She wasn’t one for PDA most of the time, but Jo found herself throwing caution out the window with Alex’s tongue in her mouth and her fingers threading through his brunette hair, earning a deep groan from Alex that only served to excite her even more. Jo’s heart was pounding wildly, and her skin was on fire as Alex’s hands gripped her hips, using his grasp to dig his own into her as he hastily mumbled against her lips, “we need to get the fuck out of here.” 

Jo was practically whimpering when she pulled away from the kiss, lips brushing against Alex’s as she told him, “the bathroom’s two doors down.” 

Alex wasted no time in grabbing her hand, a thrilling grin spreading across her mouth as she let Alex drag her in the appropriate direction, trying to press her lips together to keep her from seeming too eager. But with the long, confident strides Alex was taking, she knew he felt exactly the same way as they finally reached the right door, briefly feeling relief at the fact that it was unoccupied. 

There wasn’t a single moment lost as soon as the bathroom door closed and locked, Jo being suddenly lifted as a quiet yet startled exclaim escaped her once she was settled on the sink counter. Alex’s tall figure dominated her easily even then as he used his hands to spread her knees so he could stand between her legs, dress riding up excessively, and press his lips against hers once more, the brown eyed girl instantly returning the urgency of the kiss. 

Hearts were pounding, hands were roaming, and lips never left the others as Jo and Alex lost themselves in each other. While the setting was not ideal, neither could bring themselves to care as Jo’s hands reached forward and blindly yet expertly began unbuckling Alex’s belt. The clanking of the belt coming undone was mixed in with the sounds of their lips smacking together, sharp breaths and distant music as Jo finally slid it off, tossing it behind Alex as it clattered against the tiled floor. 

Lips were still pressed together as Alex shoved his jeans down to pull around his ankles, boxers following soon after and he couldn’t help the relieving groan he released into Jo’s mouth as his dick sprang free after being restrained for far longer than Alex would’ve liked. Jo’s arms were around his neck as she nipped at his lower lip, prompting Alex to quicken his movements as his hands slid up unbuckling her jeans and dragging them down her legs as she rose her hips. His fingertips against her bare legs leaving a fire on her skin in their wake as his fingers hooked on the band of her underwear before pulling them right down her legs. 

Goosebumps were rising on Jo’s skin, which she found funny because Alex’s touch was both warming her to her excited core and sending shivers up her spine. But once he slid her panties off her legs she reluctantly pulled away from his lips, breathlessly whispering, “hold on,” before twisting behind her to open the mirror cabinet. Her eyes landed on the box she was looking for, pulling out a condom from the emptying container before shutting the cabinet and turning back around to look at Alex, who was staring at her with a quirked brow. 

“How’d you know that was there?” he asked, his chest moving at a quicker pace as he tried to regain his breath, full lips swollen even more and pinker than usual that only increased the wetness gathering between Jo’s legs. 

She tried not to squirm to hide just how much she wanted him in this moment, holding up the condom as she deadpanned, “do you really wanna’ get into that right now?” 

Alex didn’t miss a beat. “No,” was all he said before plucking it from her fingers and connecting their lips once more, and Jo never would’ve thought that she would be in the bathroom of the bar in which she worked at, fucking someone she had never met prior to this evening. She had no damn regrets.


	2. Chapter 2

Goosebumps were raised on Jo’s skin was the first thing she noticed when she woke up the next morning, and realizing it was because she was wearing nothing but a shirt was the second. Her bleary eyes blinked open, legs shifting under her comforter and rubbing together in an attempt to warm them up. She was facing the wall once she woke up, feeling a pressure against her back which immediately had her remembering that she wasn’t alone in her bed.

That, and the fact that she could feel soft warm breaths against her ear and the familiar scent of aftershave that greeted her when she inhaled a deep breath. Jo pressed a hand on her forehead as she turned to lay on her back, head turning to the right to catch sight of the boy sleeping soundly next to her. She blinked as she took in Alex, her heart jumping in her throat as he lay asleep, left arm folded under his head. Jo’s gaze flickered to his lips, full and pink and ones that she had kissed incessantly and felt kiss her everywhere. 

She just knew her neck was going to be decorated with a few marks that he so generously left last night, and when she dropped her gaze and took in how he was shirtless and could see his chest since the comforter only reach their waists, she saw some of the marks that her own lips had left on his neck and even some on his chest. Luckily, the dark purple mixed with red hickies barely stood out against his tan skin, but it made a blush rise on her cheeks as she tore her gaze away from them, nonetheless. Her lips tingled at the reminder of how she couldn’t stop kissing him, either.

Her stomach fluttered as memories of last night briefly flickered through her mind as the dull soreness between her thighs reminded her of just how amazing it had been. Kissing Alex was one thing but being with him so intimately was an experience all on its own that she was so Goddamn overwhelmed to have gone through. In the best way.

From the events of the bar, to making it back to her apartment and then falling into her bedroom—last night had been very memorable to say the least, even with the copious amount of alcohol that had been mixed in.

Honestly, Jo would go as so far to say that sex with Alex had ruined any other encounter she had with a guy or may have in the future—but that could be the four months and six days talking. He knew exactly what to do, when to do it, and was all about delivering first and then receiving later. The way his hands had caressed her skin and his lips planted kisses everywhere that left a fire in their wake had her gasping and writhing without control.

Jo swallowed as she took in Alex’s sleeping face, realizing he looked so rugged yet innocent, when in reality the latter couldn’t be the furthest thing from the truth. Last night was proof of that. Still, his brunette hair was messy over his forehead and closed eyes as he inhaled and exhaled softly, innocently, and Jo’s hand reached over as her fingers lightly pushed his hair back and away from his face so she could see all of it, her heart jumping in her throat at the mere sight of him.

She couldn’t believe that last night had happened, again and again … again, but she by no means regretted it because holy shit she didn’t think sex could be that amazing. Jo’s slept with her fair share of men, but none of them had her seeing stars and desperate for more like the way Alex had.

Licking her lips, Jo slowly sat up instead of just lying there and admiring Alex, because if it were up to her, she would just stay there and soak in the sight of him for as long as she could. She wore only his gray t-shirt, her work clothes on the floor next to Alex’s own clothes, and she blushed briefly when she realized he was completely naked under the covers. Carefully, Jo climbed off the bed, the cold air slapping against her skin as she made a mental note to turn on the heating as she scrunched her face up in a wince when Alex stirred as she got off the bed. He stayed asleep, rolling over onto his stomach and hugging her pillow as his back sank in a sleepy exhale.

Keeping Alex’s shirt on, Jo picked up a pair of pyjama pants from her dresser and slid them on since it was too cold for her to walk around without any on, padding barefoot into the bathroom to freshen herself up. As she washed her hands and face after using the toilet, her brows raised slightly at the sight of the couple of hickies on her neck, biting the inside of her lower lip to stop the stupidly giddy smile from growing on her lips.

Eventually, after adjusting the apartment thermostat, Jo wound up in the kitchen as she made herself a bowl of Coco Puffs. She then settled on the couch to watch reruns of some show she had seen Lexie watching religiously since they lived together, though focusing on the show was proving to be a bit difficult when she was all too busy thinking about the sleeping boy in her room.

Especially when, ten minutes later when she had finished her cereal and was leaning back against the couch, Jo was startled by lips pressing to her cheek and facial hair scratching her skin pleasantly. “Oh, God,” she jumped slightly, hand pressing to her chest as she looked up over her shoulder to see Alex standing behind her, leaning forward with his hands splayed on the back of the couch as he peered down at her. Ignoring the stutter of her heart at the sight of his shirtless form in nothing but his sweatpants and tousled hair, Jo breathlessly added, “you scared me.”

Alex grinned, dimples appearing cutely as he walked around the couch before settling down next to Jo with his left arm draping over her shoulders to pull her closer. She bit the inside of her cheek at the sight of his exposed upper half, especially when she caught sight of the few marks she had left behind as Alex’s right hand pushing back his hair as he chuckled deeply his eyes fluttering down to look at her small frame engulfed in his t-shirt, “sorry about that, what’s this?”

Despite the fact that she had seen Alex in all of his naked, ridiculously sexy glory last night, she was still slightly unnerved with him sitting right next to her without a top. “Do you want your shirt back?” she found herself asking, fingers playing with the hem of Alex’s shirt that reached her thighs. “I-It’s cold in here.”

“Nah, when you’re ready.” He breathes, “I won’t stay too long, though.”

Alex would be lying if he didn’t find the shy yet radiant smile that grew on Jo’s face endearing, revelling at the sight of her high cheekbones and the softness of her skin. “Cool, I’m not sure if my roommate made it home last night,” Jo wonders out loud, Alex looking down at her with raised entertained eyebrows. Jo leans off the couch slightly to grab her phone which was lying on the coffee table, checking to see if she kept her promise and let Lexie know she was home.

Thankfully, Jo had rang Lexie around the time she and Alex would have been stumbling through the front door. She would be lying if she said she remembered the conversation whatsoever, so she quickly types out a text to her roommate asking about her current whereabouts.

The brown eyed boy hummed thoughtfully as he watched her, tilting his head back as he looked up at the ceiling before shooting her the grin, “Alex Karev, by the way—we didn’t do much talking last night.”

A short, amused laugh left Jo’s lips as she looked at him, no longer paying attention to the show playing on TV and only having eyes for the boy next to her at the moment, they were strangers but she felt comfortable, a little shy maybe but still, comfortable. “I don’t usually do that,” she begins, keeping the nervous almost hesitant tint in her voice hidden but she can’t help the rambling that begins to fall from her lips, “hook up with strangers in the bathroom of a bar, I mean. Like, I have sex, but I just don’t do it in the bar’s bathroom, but it had been so long, and my friends were ragging on me—” She had no idea where she was going with this, and she hoped to God she didn’t sound like a complete loser as she cut herself off. God, she was pathetic.

But Alex threw all of her concern out the window as his expression softened, and while she had expected for him to smirk and be slightly arrogant, her heart swelled within her chest as his right hand came to grasp her behind the knees and move her position. Jo was now seated with her legs thrown over Alex’s lap, body turned to face his as he leaned closer and rested his hand on her thigh. 

With a dimpled smile on his face, Alex spoke truthfully, “it was … mind-blowing, you don’t have to explain yourself. Whatever you did, I did too,” and his smile widened at the way she struggled to contain her own. Jo felt her cheeks heating up at his answer, wanting to avert her suddenly shy gaze but not being able to do so when Alex closed the distance and pressed his lips to hers. She instantly leaned into him, a quiet moan coming up from her throat at how Alex sucked her lower lip into the kiss that had both of them wrapping their arms around each other and Alex pushing Jo back down on the couch.

Safe to say, they were both eager to start their morning the same way they ended the night before, Jo just really hoped that Lexie wasn’t home.

___

“Jesus Christ—you couldn’t have just made the short journey into your bedroom?” Lexie grumbled as she wandered towards the kitchen while shooting the small brunette a glare, who sat on the edge of the couch; eyes apologetic ad legs crossed, her torso now covered with a pyjama top that belonged to herself.

Lexie’s snigger betrays her annoyance, as she grabbed herself a bag of chips and settled on the chair across from Jo, avoiding the now tainted couch. After what Lexie had just seen, she doesn’t think she’ll ever sit there again. “I’m sorry,” Jo scoffs, sitting up as she watched Lexie pop the bag open and shovel the contents into her mouth. “But was it not you who told me that I needed to get laid?”

Jackson Avery watched bemusedly as both his new kinda-girlfriend and her roommate exchanged looks from across the room, he had come back to the apartment with Lexie but didn’t get to see the show performed by the latter and her bar friend as he was busy hauling up grocery bags a few steps behind Lexie. Jackson snickers, avoiding Lexie’s glares, “who was the guy?”

An incredulous huff escaped Jo as she threw her head back and then she rolled her eyes while muttering, “his name’s Alex, we just met at the bar.”

“He was stupid hot,” Lexie piped up again whilst her mouth was still full of chips, quirking an eyebrow at Jackson who shot her a questioning look. “What? He was. I still have eyes, Jackson.” She huffs, rolling her eyes at his pointed gaze.

Jo giggled at the interaction between the pair, noting the way Jackson sat down and automatically pulled Lexie’s legs over his lap—kind of like the way Alex had done with her earlier, although she hoped she and Alex didn’t look so sickly sweet like the pair across from her. Jo scoffed silently at her own thought, there is nothing sickly sweet about the way Alex fucked her over and over. Suddenly, she felt both of their eyes on her as she was lost in her own thoughts, missing the way Lexie’s lips had moved to ask her a question.

Truthfully, Jo had assumed that sleeping with Alex would ease up the tension that had encircled her mind about finishing school and the hard time her sexist colleagues had been giving her. It was a selfish move, but it was a much-needed distraction, and it’s not like he was complaining. He didn’t even ask for her number as he hastily ran to her bedroom and grabbed his discarded clothing, however she had appreciated the way he pecked her lips and thanked her for letting him crash when she joined him in her bedroom, returning his t-shirt. It was something so small, but Jo liked it much better than when guys slipped out in the morning without even a goodbye. She was ridiculously attracted to Alex in practically every way someone could be attracted to another person, and she had stupidly just thought that once she got him in bed it would be over. 

Multiple rounds of sex later and she was being proven terribly wrong.

She needed more.

If he had left her his number then she would definitely be calling it, not today or tomorrow but very soon she would be picking up her phone and dialling his number. After making sure the most she did with a guy never got past the physical point to tread into the dangerous, nagging territory of emotions, Jo was well versed in one-night stands. Jo hadn’t done the whole emotions shtick since she and her ex-boyfriend broke up over a year ago, and while she had moved on from that, she would be lying if she said she still wasn’t hurt over it. What better way to hide the pain of a breakup than burying it under a growing body count? But that only lasted a little while before she was back to practicing celibacy.

Alex seemed like a guy who would be into that, maybe it was assumptious and also a slightly nasty thought, but that’s the impression that she got from their time together—and she didn’t mean for it to sound like that, because that was all she wanted. Someone she could hook up with without the fear of being murdered or catching something. God, she really wished he left his number.

“Huh?” Jo asks finally, Lexie and Jackson’s inquisitive stares becoming too much.

“Do you plan on seeing him again?” Lexie asks, both her voice and eyes were full of hope. It had been so long since she had seen Jo so engrossed in something that didn’t involve school work, and if her lust glazed eyes told Lexie anything, it was that Jo was certainly not thinking about school. “From what I saw he was, like, really into you,” Lexie raised her eyebrows suggestively, “and I advise you not to do your usual thing, either.”

“What usual thing?” Jackson asks with raised eyebrows, enjoying the round of gossip.

Jo’s lips puckered in thought, thinking she knows exactly what her friend had meant, as Lexie spoke up casually. “Oh, Jo will hook up with a guy and immediately begin to point out all of their flaws just so she has an excuse not to call them again.” Jo glanced over at Lexie, a silent question in her eyes as Lexie added, “don’t look at me like that, you love to pretend that they’re jerks but you’re the one who ghosts them.”

The brunette nearly choked on her own saliva, looking completely affronted as she stammered out a defensive, “I do not!” 

Lexie snorted, eyes on the remaining chips at the bottom of the bag and sarcastically stated, “oh, yeah, because Jack with the great job and great family values and amazing body who treated you like a freakin’ queen did not blow up your phone for weeks whilst you ignored him. Bravo!”

Jackson guffawed at the expense of Jo, who pursed her lips tightly as she did not appreciate her friend and her friends new fling laughing at her and the way she decided to live her life. “I like sex … not relationships, what’s the big deal?” she scowled, grabbing the bottle of water that she had left on the coffee table and taking a gulp.

Lexie knew the exact reason why Jo was so sceptical when it came to letting herself fall for someone, she was the one who seen it first-hand after all. Lexie was the one who held Jo’s hair back as she threw up into the toilet, sick with fear and severe heartache. It wasn’t something she ever wanted to re-live, the feel of her best friend’s small frame wracked and shaking with sobs, but that didn’t mean she didn’t want Jo to put herself back out there. It had been long enough.

Shrugging, Lexie throws the now empty packet of crisps to Jackson, who knowingly scrunches the bag into a ball and shoots for the bin in the corner of the living area—it was his party trick, he never missed a shot. “I saw the way you were looking at him last night, you should call him.”

Jo’s face scrunched up in disgust, not liking what was being implied and wondering how the hell they ended up on this topic of conversation as she let her body flop against the couch. “He didn’t leave his number,” Jo informed, shaking her head subtly as she felt her curls brush against her cheeks at the movement. Lexie shooting her a sad smile at the statement, she felt the need to reassure her even if she herself felt fine, “because it was a one-time thing.”

It didn’t matter how much Jo had wished he had, because he hadn’t and that was that—she wouldn’t let herself get hung up on what she had thought was amazing sex.

“No, but seriously,” Lexie said as she got up from her seat and she shot Jo one last serious expression. “Not every guy is gonna’ be like Jason; I don’t want to see you alone forever.”

Jo’s brows lowered in an almost offended frown. “I’m not going to be alone forever.” Then with a sigh, she added, “I honestly don’t know what I want, alright? I just don’t feel like I’m up for dating.”

Her body involuntarily tensed at the sound of Jason’s name, but she thinks she hid it well, Lexie didn’t raise a sceptical eyebrow at her. She doesn’t believe that anything can end as badly as the way she and Jason had—that had never been her fear. It was the idea of falling for someone so deeply that you give them the chance to hurt you in a way you can’t eat, sleep, or get out of bed. The thought alone brought back the memories and left her feeling sick.

She didn’t ever want to feel like that again; so, she kept herself guarded. It wasn’t that she enjoyed being alone, she was just careful. Anyway, she was more concerned with finishing at the top of her class anyway.

Jackson snorted, quirking an eyebrow as he followed Lexie’s actions, getting up from his seat and walking towards her bedroom door. “If you change your mind then I know a great guy, we work—” He’s cut off when Lexie stomps over to him and pushes him through the doorway, sending Jo an apologetic look.

“All of your work friends are assholes.”

“Whose Jason?”

Jo laughs lightly as she hears their conversation through the thin wall, gaze lowering to her water bottle as she’s left in silence, the only sound came from the forgotten television show blaring from the TV. They had no idea how Jo had been feeling about the night before. Neither did she. She was already hooked, on the sex, but at least that was something rather than usual void she felt afterwards.

She wondered if he was thinking the same. If he couldn’t stop thinking about her, in any aspect, and that alone was enough to have Jo realize that Alex was definitely not like the other guys she’s slept with. Everything with him seemed so different, as if it was the first time she was doing anything like that with a guy—save for any awkward amateur fumbling, they had been in complete sync. So, she let herself wonder … wonder if he thought if her skin was soft under his hands and lips, her own lips so sweet and addictive that he craved to taste her again while the way she worked them could be described as nothing but sinful.

Jo was decided, she wanted something physical with someone she trusted and someone who made her skin feel like it was on fire. Like a flame was being ignited, and she wanted it with him. She hoped that she would see him at the bar again, or maybe they would accidentally collide into each other as they both went for their daily run, or they possibly could bump hands as they both reach up for a bag of the same chips at the supermarket. 

Oh god, Jo groans to herself. Her distraction hadn’t supposed to linger like this—she had schoolwork to complete, yet that hadn’t even crossed her mind. Jo needed to focus but it was just so damn hard to focus when she couldn’t get the image of his moaning, writhing and pleasure-filled expression out of her head. This was going to be hard.

No damn pun intended.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ok so how did i not know that assumptious isn't a real word? i used it anyway tho :)


	3. Chapter 3

Instead of stressing out about what some boy was currently thinking of her, Jo made sure her frustrations were dedicated towards the schoolwork she had to get done. She was in her final year of med school with a big workload that she was constantly trying to lessen—she didn’t need to get distracted over what the hell was going on with some boy that she had a one night stand with. Even if she did sometimes, quite creepily, found herself stalking social media in search of his name. It had been a week and she had come up with nothing. Alex hadn’t even been at the bar on the nights she was working.

She stopped stalking when she realized just how strange and pathetic that was.

Jo found herself back at the bar with her friends on her first free night of the week, with Jackson coming along with Lexie and Stephanie bringing Kyle, a guy she had recently started seeing. It was a good way to unwind after a long week of writing two research papers and presenting a project. She felt the special need to reward herself because she submitted the weekly paper for her online class early even though it’s due on Sunday, so Jo virtually had no homework for the weekend and a lot of time to find some kind of distraction to keep her from thinking of the one person who kept creeping into her mind.

“I love these,” Jo commented as she took a sip of her pre-mixed cocktail, lips wrapped around the straw as she drank the beverage from a classic glass bottle. Not many places served the cheap alcoholic beverage like this, and it was one of the few things about the bar that made Jo happy.

Jackson, sitting across from her in the booth with his left arm draped around Lexie’s shoulders, snickered as he used his free hand to pick up the nachos on the table between them. “Don’t break it like last time,” he remarked, to which everyone laughed while Jo whined about her dropping the bottle when she was drunk and it shattering to pieces happening only one time, although only a few days earlier.

Just then Lexie perked up as her eyes went to something over Jo’s shoulder and past the booth. “Oh, the dart board is available—c’mon, Jo.”

She had been wanting to play a round of darts since the group of them walked into the bar, but the board had been occupied until now. So, the two slid out and wandered towards the back wall by the bar, with Lexie plucking out darts from the board and handing Jo the green ones. Jesse’s Girl by Rick Springfield was playing through the speakers as, on the other side, the sound of pool balls clinking together could be heard. Jo went first, standing the appropriate distance as she threw the first dart. It was on the outer ring, the second landing there as well before the other two landed on the inner one and the last being a bullseye.

As she pulled off her darts and stepped aside to let Lexie go, Jo crossed her arms over her chest when she heard her friend say, “okay, spill. What’s been bugging you for the past few days?”

Jo blinked before frowning at Lexie, leaning back against one of the wooden pillars that supported the bar. “What?”

Lexie rolled her eyes, throwing one of her darts as it landed in the inner circle before shooting Jo a knowing look. “You’ve been drowning yourself in your work—I’ve rarely saw you outside of your room or class. You study a lot, but only that much when you’re trying extra hard to distract yourself from something else.” 

Rolling her lower lip into her mouth, Jo glanced up at the wooden ceiling as she wondered if she really was that easy to read. When she looked back at Lexie, she let out an exasperated huff when she saw the same pointed expression on her face. “I’m fine, Lex, really,” she assured, tightening her arms across her chest. “Just trying to get my shit together,” Jo added with a light laugh.

“Does that include your feelings for your new sex friend?” her friend questioned, followed by the sound of the dart hitting the board.

Jo pressed her lips together, feeling her skin warm up with an embarrassed flush. “I don’t have those kinds of feelings, I’m just incredibly horny.” Jo states with a shrug, laughing with Lexie.

She wasn’t even going to bother denying that he was on her mind—Lexie was her friend and Jo knew she was going to end up telling her anyway. So Jo let out a sigh, throwing her head back as it collided on the post with a light thud and she would complain about how much it hurt if she wasn’t already thinking about how annoyed she was with her stupid sexual problems.

“I can’t believe it was that good,” Lexie scoffed, prompting Jo to let out a wry chuckle. Then, Lexie smirked, “come on, you can not tell me with a straight face that he was better than that boxer … you know, the one with those huge arms? The guy we all had a thing for.”

Jo knew exactly who Lexie was talking about—he was the first guy she had met after Jason, the first guy she even attempted to flirt with. They had met him at one of the clubs they had used to frequent when they all first became friends, deciding to try it out again, he was crazy hot and all of them were practically drooling at the sight of him. Jo finally worked up the courage to talk to him, something she would come to regret the morning after—he was awful.

Just at the mention of him Jo couldn’t help the groan that escapes her lips. She hadn’t wanted anyone to know, she wasn’t embarrassed, but she was choosing to live in denial. But after having one two many glasses of wine during a girl’s night with Stephanie, she had slipped up and blurted everything whilst they were childishly swapping secrets.

An affronted exclaim escaped Jo, brows furrowing into a glare as she looked behind her to where their friends sat. Of course, Stephanie was out of her sight in the booth, so Jo turned to look at Lexie again. “The bitch can’t keep anything to herself, I was in denial about that.”

Lexie laughed, throwing her last dart and letting out a huff when it didn’t lie in the centre. “But seriously though,” she began once more after pulling out the darts and looking at her friend once more. “We need to find this guy. Hell, you’ve got this whole sex glow and it’s really working for you.” Jo’s brows raised as Lexie gestured to her friend’s face, taken aback. “You keep having sex that makes you look like that and then maybe you’ll find a boyfriend.”

Jo scoffed, unable to keep the bitterness from her voice as she grumbled, “would you drop the whole boyfriend thing, I’m fine.”

Thinking about it now, how Lexie insinuated Jo only wanted to use the guy to find something more stable, twisted Jo’s stomach unpleasantly. She hated sounding so completely selfish—that wasn’t her, she grew up with people treating her horribly and she would never do that to someone. But then again, she didn’t really know Alex, he could be awful—he could deserve it. Alex had a weird grip on her mind, that she was struggling in loosening.

Lexie’s eyes widened as Jo moved to take her spot to throw the darts. “Oh my—what if he comes back here!” she exclaimed, a fire lighting up in her eyes. Lexie imagined the man in question wandering in, friends in tow. If she was one more drink down, then she’d probably be storming over there and demanding answers as to why he didn’t leave his contact for Jo. Or, maybe, have Jackson do it for her.

Jo would probably slap her for it, though.

Jo’s eyebrows furrowed, the small smile evident in her expression as she mumbled, “maybe,” She asked, trying to remain nonchalant before forcefully throwing the dart, feeling a sense of annoyance as it went to the outer edge of the outer ring. “I mean, that would be cool,” she added, waving the darts in her hands around, trying to refrain her eyes from wandering over to him. “I guess I recognised his face last week, he’s probably a regular.”

“If he comes in then you need to go straight over there, Jo,” was Lexie’s immediate and honest response as a classic rock song Jo didn’t recognize began playing through the bar. “You need to go over there and grab your man and take him back to that bathroom,” she spoke fast as she pointed a finger at Jo, not wanting her friend to waste one more minute.

Jo pursed her lips, throwing another dart. “No way,” she answered truthfully. She then glanced over at Lexie, “I’m not gonna’ go pounce on him, he’s not my man or whatever. Plus, I’m not having sex in this bathroom again … have you seen how dirty—"

She cut herself off immediately as her gaze flickered over Lexie’s shoulders, words dying in her mouth as she saw the bar’s doors open and in walking in was the devil himself with his friends. Jo’s throat dried at the sight of the brunette in his dark t-shirt and the same jeans he had worn last week, hair in the same style that her fingers itched to run through. 

“What?” Lexie questioned in confusion, noticing Jo’s change in demeanour before turning around following her gaze. “Oh,” she sounded when her eyes landed on what Jo was staring at.

Alex and the boys approached the bar, giving their orders and receiving their drinks moments later before they turned to sit down at one of the round tables in the middle since the booths were full. Jo couldn’t help but look at him from where she stood on the other side of the bar, feeling some kind of dull ache in her chest at the sight of his wide grin as he laughed, the sound drowned out by the music and people talking. He looked happy.

Forcefully tearing her gaze away from the guy, Jo took in a sharp breath and looked back at the board across from her, tightening her grip on the dart before throwing it right at it. Lexie pressed her lips together to stop the smile growing on her face when she saw the dart hit the bullseye. “Were you imagining Alex’s face on the board?”

That got a laugh out of Jo, pausing when she was about to throw another dart as she shot an amused look at Lexie. “Of course not,” she responded in a knowing tone, smirking as Lexie let out a giggle. “He doesn’t owe me anything.”

They finished their game and went to go back to the booth, though Jo made a detour towards the bar since she had finished her drink. She found an empty spot at the busy counter, leaning against it on her arms as she gestured for the bartender, Max, for a beer. Max was a little new, but he knew her face well enough to send her over a nod of acknowledgement.

As she patiently waited, tapping her hands on the countertop with her college peers flanked her on either side, Jo froze when she heard, “hey, Jo.”

Her throat worked, teeth grinding together as Jo turned around to see the familiar man standing right behind her. Alex stared down at her with glistening eyes, a small, confident, smile on his face as he peered down at her. His hands were buried in the pockets of his jeans, broad shoulders hiding the rest of the bar behind him from her. 

She wasn’t going to lie—she was really glad he went out of his way to spark conversation with her, but she wasn’t going to let him catch onto that. “Hi, Alex.”

Alex, to his credit, had picked up the shift in Jo’s body language despite the fact she tried to hide it, her jaw softening and arms relaxing against the counter as she looked up at him. Honestly, he didn’t know what compelled him to come up to her—he had seen her approach the bar and straightened in his seat, feeling the sudden urge to talk to the girl he had been non-stop thinking about since he left her apartment. It had been damn fantastic. He wasn’t surprised that she would be here again, she worked at the place, although he was glad to see that she looked to be off for the night. 

So he swallowed inaudibly before asking, “you want a drink?”

Jo didn’t even try to stop the smile from gracing her lips as she rolled her eyes, hip jutting slightly as she answered, “oh, sure,” Alex tried not to smirk, not missing the slight confusion in her tone and the narrowing of her eyes. Jo laughs, “I guess we can start things a little differently this time.”

Oh, but how she didn’t want it to. She totally just wanted to drag him out of here and back to her place, or his she wasn’t picky. Jo mentally berated herself. Her head had been in the gutter for days now, she needed to pull it out. Jo pushed her eagerness to the side and shot Alex a grin, hoping that he couldn’t see straight through her.

Just then, the bartender behind Jo handed them both the beers, she watched as Max looked at her expectantly but Alex was the one to pass him the money before picking up her bottle and turning to take a step closer to Alex’s broad figure. “Wh—I suppose we didn’t do much talking, huh?” Alex questioned with raised brows, watching as she brushed a loose curl behind her ear with an indifferent expression painted on her face that was merely a mask to hide how she truly felt.

She took a step back and threw him a wink, took in the bewildered look he wore, and suddenly felt a newfound surge of some kind of power as she countered, “find me later,” before shouldering past some guy and walking to the other side where her friends were seated. 

Jo could feel Alex’s gaze burning into her back, only boosting her confidence, and making her feel all the more powerful for brushing him off like that—all week she had felt pathetic being stuck on a guy she had spent one night (and one morning) with but seeing him tonight made her feel all the more justified, he felt it too. Sure, she wanted to know what he had to say as they conversed over a drink, but she wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction of immediately falling into the palm of his hand the first time he came up to her. She had more pride than that. And stubbornness. And, not to mention, she knew how to play the game.

So she went to sit back down with her friends, purposefully avoiding glancing Alex’s way as he, in turn, let out a small breath of disbelief and surprise before reluctantly returning to his seat at the table with his friends. “You look like you struck out,” Cristina commented as the brunette sat down across from her defeatedly. Cristina glanced over her shoulder to where Alex’s conquest sat with her friends. Looking back at Alex, she mocked, “she didn’t wanna go for you, Evil Spawn?”

Alex let out a scoff and shook his head, taking a long swig of his drink. Next to him, Meredith scoffed also as she set down her tequila. “Wait, she’s the girl from last week.” She notices, giggling, “going back for round two? That is so unlike you.”

The muscle in Alex’s jaw twitched at his words because he knew Meredith was right. It wasn’t his usual thing to attempt to pick up a girl twice, but this had been different. Alex, in his defence, didn’t want to get attached. But he figured Jo was just someone to hook up with, that was all she seemed to want from him. When they had sex twice, then three times and he found himself not being able to get enough—he decided there would be no harm in seeing this girl again. Alex hadn’t wanted someone so badly the way he did Jo, a desire so intense he had to take a moment and step back. It was perfect, no questions and no feeling. Just sex.

But not being able to get her out of his head all week, it only made things worse for him—both physically and mentally, he knows he can be a real grouch when he needed to get laid. Now she seemed to be teasing him, and Alex couldn’t lie and say it wasn’t turning him on a whole lot more. 

“What did you expect?” Cristina asks after swallowing down a couple of French fries. “You should know by now, once someone gets to know you, they’re gonna’ start avoiding you.”

Alex shot her a flat look, though mildly annoyed because he didn’t plan on having a late one tonight but here he was waiting on Jo, as he took a sip of his beer. It warmed his throat and settled in his stomach with a calming buzz. His eyes kept flickering over Cristina and Meredith’s shoulders through the night to gaze at Jo sitting in the booth, having utterly no regard for him as she laughed, chatted, and took occasional sips of her beer. Alex bit the inside of his cheek at her smile—something he’d only been able to see through her social media. He felt a smile twitching on his lips at the sight of hers, even if it wasn’t directed to him. And he couldn’t put a pin on as to why.

When Jo and her friends got up and began filing out of the bar around midnight that night, momentary panic set in Alex as he realized she was leaving and he hadn’t yet ‘come found her’ like she had so agonizingly asked him to. So quickly finishing his new bottle of beer and slamming it on the table, Alex scrambled to his feet and didn’t bother giving his friends an explanation before running out the door, leaving them staring after him in bewilderment. The cold October night air slapped him as he stepped out, but he paid it no attention as he caught sight of who he was after and called out, “Jo!”

The brown eyed girl’s laughter ceased, her and her friends all pausing in approaching the parking lot as they turned around to see the guy who had been occupying Jo’s mind. His hair was tousled because of the wind as they stood a few feet away from the door. “Come here,” he stated clearly before his lips set into a firm line.

Jo gazed at him, taking in the seriousness of his expression. Her brows furrowed before glancing at her friends, pocketing her car keys. “I’ll see you at home.” She shot a reassuring look to Lexie before they nodded and began walking away—though not before Jo’s roommate shot her a knowing look. When Jackson’s and Stephanie’s cars drove off, Jo looked at Alex, who had neared and stopped about five feet from her. “Can I help you?”

Alex peered at the pretty girl in front of him, his Adam’s apple bobbing as he took in how comfortably adorable, she looked in her dark denim jacket that practically engulfed her. The cold air already had her nose and cheeks flushing pink and Alex wanted to do nothing more than to pull her close and kiss her pink plump lips.

“I owe you an apology,” he stated, although his smirk was still evident, and his voice was rough while he shoved his hands in the pockets of his jacket. The music from the dive bar behind them was muffled and there was no one in the parking lot but them, allowing them to hear the occasional whistle of the wind. “I didn’t get your number.”

Jo let out a breathy laugh at that, crossing her arms over her chest from the cold, smiling at the idea that Alex had been thinking the exact same thing that she had. “No, you didn’t,” she agreed easily, with a flirty quirk of her eyebrow. She hadn’t expected to have this conversation in the middle of bars empty parking lot with only a couple of streetlamps lighting the area, but she guessed this was better than a dirty bathroom. “But we’re here now,” she added, shifting her weight from one foot to the other. 

“I don’t—I’m gonna’ be honest,” Alex begins hastily, as he took a step towards her, long legs bringing him closer to her rooted figure. Jo had to swallow inaudibly as Alex closes the space between them, unwittingly feeling more affected by it than she liked. Alex paused for a moment, tongue poking out to wet his lower lip and Jo tried not to follow the action as he spoke up almost hesitantly. “I’m not looking for anything serious, before you start thinking this is me being all emotional and crap, but last week … I can’t stop thinking about it.”

That caught her off guard. Jo blinked in surprise, glad to hear it hadn’t only been her, the earnest expression on his face told her he wanted her just as much as she wanted him. And he did. Alex may have been a little arrogant, but he wasn’t going to let his arrogance and stubbornness get in the way of what he so desperately wanted. Multiple times tonight he had wanted to march right over to her but refrained himself because he didn’t want to make her uncomfortable in case, she wasn’t feeling the same wave of desire he felt.

Truth be told, Alex didn’t know what he wanted, not exclusively—he hadn’t thought about it. All he knew was that he wanted Jo in the way he had her before and for now, that would have to be enough. And he hoped she would be okay with that, should she agree.

“What do you want?” Jo asks her voice sultry and teasing, pouty lips puckering even more, and the mere action had Alex’s jeans tightening and jaw clenching. She then licked her lips and Alex wished she stopped playing with the skin because he was losing any ounce of self-control he had. With a sigh, Jo asked, “because I’m sure I’ve been wanting all the same things.” Her words seductive, knowing that they were both about to get exactly what they wanted. “You don’t have to be worried about the feelings; I don’t want that.” Jo adds for clarity, they were both mature enough to lay it out all one the line.

Her confidence when it came to Alex seemed to be something that came and gone, but she’s glad in this instance there was no feeling of shyness. If she didn’t want to do anything with someone anymore, she wasn’t always straight up with them but she’s glad she can do the opposite. She knows ignoring them until they go away was childish and rude—but someone would be hurt either way, it was best to avoid coming face to face with that.

Alex’s expression rose somewhat, a pang of desire resonating through him at the knowledge of how he had made her feel. Fuck. He ran his fingers through his hair, pushing it back and away from his face of steepened brows and lips rolled into his mouth, trying to get an ease on this sexual tension. “Good,” he smirked, taking yet another step towards Jo, the closing distance rising her gaze because of his height. Their silent agreement was now written, signed, and sealed once those words escaped her lips. “I promise not to fall in love with you, babe, I swear.”

Babe had so effortlessly rolled from his lips that it made Jo’s heart thud as a gust of wind blew against her face, prompting shivers to run down her spine despite the coat she wore. Whatever was going on with her and Alex, she was going to accept it as it came—this was what she had wanted, just sex. If he just wanted to fuck, she was more than okay with it. It would be hard for her, hooking up with the same guy and not getting the same fears that spread throughout her when she saw someone more than once, but she would take it in stride.

She was way too attracted to Alex to prioritize her hurt feelings over her desire for him.

So, swallowing down her emotions, Jo took a breath and stated, “you never answered my question.” When Alex shot her a quizzical look, Jo briefly bit the inside of her lower lip before repeating, “what do you want?”

Alex’s dark eyes locked on her own, silence surrounding them despite the music inside the bar. He knew exactly what he wanted. He wanted her in the bathroom or in the cab ride home or in her bed or on her couch … he wanted her.

So, he gave the only answer both of them would be satisfied with. “You.”

That was all it took for Jo’s breath to hitch and confidence to strengthen as she grabbed him by the lapels of his jacket and pulled him in for a searing kiss, one which warmed them both to the core despite the cold nipping at their bodies. The heated rush of the kiss had Jo and Alex melting into each other, having gone too long without the other’s touch as Alex’s hands cupped her face, Jo feeling her toes curl as his hands touched her skin.

Her car was only a few feet away, so it’s safe to say the two had no trouble in walking towards it without detaching their lips and climbing into the backseat, more than ready to get rid of their clothes and give into the unadulterated hunger that always sparked to life the moment their eyes met.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you for comments and kudos :)
> 
> i have a couple more chapters pre-written to proof read but after that updates will be much slower, so apologies in advance!


	4. Chapter 4

How long Alex and Jo sat in her car afterwards, lips and tongues moving together and hands holding each other, Jo didn’t have much of a clue. All she knew was when they finally pulled away, her lungs were screaming for air and her lips were swollen from the continuous kissing, much like Alex’s were when she looked at them. It made her want to kiss him even more, and the feeling was wholly mutual.

“Fuckin’ hell,” was the first ting Alex said, his deep voice a raspy whisper as he peered down at her with raised eyebrows and that boyish smile curling at his lips. Jo couldn’t help but let out an airy laugh at that, her hands still gripping onto his sides. That was quite a reaction. “Honestly, Jo, you’ve no idea how much I’ve been wanting to do that since ...”

Jo’s throat worked as she bit her lower lip, though unsuccessful in stopping her own smile from widening as she leaned into him. His words had her practically shaking in excitement. The lightness in her chest was made of up nothing but elated giddiness, beside herself with content bliss after experiencing Alex’s dizzying, addictive kisses. She quite honestly pouted when they pulled away, her lips trying to follow his until he moved to sit straight up on the backseat of the car with a teasing smirk, knowing she couldn’t reach him.

“Hmm, me too,” she hummed, a playful smile growing on her face as Alex raised an eyebrow, lifting his chin slightly in question as Jo let out a quiet giggle. “As fun as this was,” Jo begins, groaning as she moves to sit up and pull her bra from underneath her back, “I think I bruised my tailbone on the handle.”

This time Alex leaned back all the way, staring at her teasing yet guilty expression with a confused frown before his face fell in realization and eyes narrowed. Looking between the brunette’s pained expression and the handle in question, Alex smirks and raises his eyebrows playfully, “Don’t worry, I’m a doctor.”

“Oh, really?” Jo laughed, hands reaching up to grip his arms as she grinned up at him, tilting her head to the side as his gaze returned to her and she admitted, “I’m all up for role play but shouldn’t we get the costumes first—plus, I’m sure we could find something more, like, sexy …”

Her words invited a smirk to tug at Alex’s lips, showing off a hint of the dimple in his cheek as he pointed out impishly, “I’m sure we can but, I was being serious—I’m a surgical intern, princess.”

Jo’s cheeks burned up even more at that, her lips parting in shock as she reached a hand to swat against his bare chest, revelling in the closeness that existed between them in this moment. “Shut up!” She exclaimed, though the smile was still on her face. She felt Alex’s chest shake as a deep chuckle rumbled through him, and the sound and getting to feel it was soothing as Jo closed her eyebrows briefly. “I’m in my final year of med school, surgical programme too.”

God, how is it the one guy she chose to hook up with shared her dream job?

“No way,” Alex sighs, a breathy laughter escaping past his lips. “I never would have guessed.”

Apparently, Alex had easily picked up on the way Jo’s shoulders tensed and her hand finally fell from his chest. Hesitantly, Jo let out a sigh, opening her eyes to look up at Alex with lips turned downwards and eyes probably portraying the distress she was internally experiencing. His own eyebrows were raised in concern, ducking his head slightly to look at her as she felt his hands grip her upper arms lightly. “I didn’t mean that in, like, you don’t look smart—you look plenty smart.”

“Right.” A laugh slipped out of her mouth before she could stop it, shaking her head as Alex stuttered to save himself. Quickly, Jo tried to appease him. “I just—it’s cool, I’ve just heard snarky comments before,” she paused, taking a breath before forcing herself to lock gazes with him, firm and determined as she continued, “although, no one ever disbelieves I’m a waitress. Maybe that’s the job I’m destined for.”

Alex let out a light scoff, rolling his blue eyes briefly in disbelief. “I can already tell you’re wasted in that bar, Jo.” She raised a challenging eyebrow because it was a bold thing to say about someone you barely knew. So, he pursed his lips before adding purposefully and pointedly, “I’m a great judge of character.”

That was enough to inspire a smile to tug on her lips. It felt gratifying, almost, knowing that a guy who barely knew her saw something in her that was worthwhile. “Of course, you are,” she confirmed quietly, smiling confidently. One corner of his own lips turned up as Jo’s hands reached up to grasp his wrists lightly his hands still on her arms. “I mean, you’re here with me aren’t ya’.”

Immediately Alex closed his eyes, head tilting back as he chuckled, though Jo was pretty sure the gruff sound was drowned out by the music that still emitted loudly from the bar. “Oh, calm your ego,” she rolled her lips into her mouth as he shook his head at the roof of the car, watching him fondly. Alex looked back at her; a determined expression set on his face as if he was ready to continue with the night he had silently planned out in his head. “My place is free; roommates are out so we don’t need to worry about being caught full frontal on the couch—you wanna’ head back there?”

She took a breath at his words, knowing that there was no way she was turning him down, God, did she feel something—a magnetic pull, almost, keeping her close to Alex and making it difficult to pull away. “Sure, Alex,” she sighed, using her grasp on his wrists to remove his grip on her, even though that was the last thing she wanted. Jo couldn’t get dressed and into the front of her car with his hands on her, and Alex reluctantly let go of her and dropped his arms to his side. “I’m pretty sure all my friends are back at my place, so—yours is probably a better option.”

Alex licked his lips, exhaling sharply as he watched Jo pull her top over her head—ignoring the bra she had flung onto the seat, running his fingers through his brunette hair. He didn’t want to wait to have her again, not when he had Jo right in front of him, but she was right, this wasn’t the most comfortable place to go for round two. The muscle in his jaw worked while he also began to get dressed, Jo couldn’t help but think how hot he looked in this moment. Damn. “Plus, your neighbourhood is terrible,” Alex spoke, looking back at her. “I was certain I would get jumped leaving your place last week.” 

“It’s a little bit on the rough side but that’s part of its character,” Jo argued, clambering into the front seat when a couple of people stumbled past the car though her gaze was locked on Alex who followed her actions only onto the passenger seat.

“I don’t think fear of impending death can be classed as character,” Alex countered, clearly not backing down as he raised his eyebrows at her, gesturing towards the steering wheel with his hand. He wanted to get back home and go again and again and again. “Hey, it’s understandable—you’re still in school. Just don’t forget to lock your doors.”

Jo knew he was right—hell, she believed the same thing. She and Lexie had chosen the apartment due to its cheap rent rather than its surroundings. It wasn’t the safest, Jo’s own car has had the windows smashed through on more than one occasion. But Jo had lived in worse buildings, her car being one of them—but she supposed she can’t really class that as a building. But like Alex said, they kept their door locked and they ignored the shouting and the junkies that trailed past the windows during the night. Jo just liked having a place to call home, safe or not.

“It’s better than being homeless, don’t you think?” Jo found herself asking almost challengingly, watching as Alex pursed his lips. “I mean, things could be worse—you could spend your nights terrified that someone was going to break in and steal your belongings and whatever little you had and you have no idea how you’d protect ,” she added, voice trailing off as she started the engine and turned her head to the side as Alex met her gaze again. He took in the seriousness of her expression, his own falling slightly as he realized she was possibly talking from experience. She wasn’t sure where it had come from, why the words began to tumble out of her mouth—she didn’t want his pity, Jo couldn’t explain why but she felt comfortable and being comfortable made her ramble. “I’m just saying, someone always has it worse—sometimes you have to appreciate the little things, like a crappy apartment.”

Alex’s lips puckered slightly; eyebrows steepened as he listened to Jo’s words. Her heart thudded against her chest, waiting for his reaction anxiously, hoping he wouldn’t try to comfort her or worse, pity her. Finally, Alex released a long, slow breath through his lips, involuntarily drawing Jo’s gaze to his mouth. Would she ever be able to focus her attention on anything else after having kissed him? Then, much to her surprise and relief, Alex smiled his usual charming, crooked smile that recently began to weaken her knees. “Way to dampen the mood, Jo. Come on, we can talk about our tragic backstories once we’re in bed.” His smile turns mischievous.

Jo let’s another spill of laughter leave her lips before pressing down on the accelerator and driving them out of the parking lot. She’d found Alex was easy to talk to and maybe, just maybe, she had more in common with him than originally thought.

“This place is nice as fuck,” Jo commented, hands trailing up the stairs banister as she waited for Alex to make the next move.

Alex hummed in agreement as he began to walk down the hall, towards what Jo now realised to be the kitchen as she saw turned to see the refrigerator. “I know; it’s my friends childhood home or whatever. We work together so she let’s me rent a room.”

Glancing at him, Jo nodded in understanding, before her gaze was straying up to the crown mouldings. It was a really really nice place. When she looked around at the room, she took in the used coffee mugs that decorated the counters and the open cereal box left underneath an open cupboard. Since Alex had mentioned he lived with co-workers she assumes they must all be interns, “Now I get why you were so judgy about my place.”

As she admired the place, Alex grabbed two beers from the fridge and handed one over to Jo. A low hum of thanks escaping her lips before she raises the drink to her lips and takes a few big gulps, “I wasn’t judging, I just said it was unsafe.”

“You were so judging,” Jo laughed, leaning back against the wall just as Alex glared over at her. “It’s cool, I can see now that you’re a fancy doctor with a fancy house—which, by the way, has crown mouldings.” She teased.

Alex joined her as he also leant against wall, looking to his right to look at Jo. “Yeah, trust me. You may as well get paid in dirt as an intern, don’t let the house fool you. But it is much better than the foster homes I got tossed around from back in the day,” he mumbles the final sentence, attention returning back to his beer.

“How many?” Jo enquires, her eyebrows raising with curiosity.

Alex lets out a low chuckle, “seventeen, you?”

He knew the instant she started talking about fear of living in an uncomfortable situation, saw a look on her face that had mirrored his own countless of times. Anyone else would have thought she was being a little weird, but he knew—all too well, he knew.

“I stopped counting,” Jo turns her head to look at him, “moved into my car.”

“Smart.”

They shared a smile before both of them took a deep breath, Jo’s eyes once again moving to scan around the space of the kitchen. Across from her, Jo noticed baking trays—some filled with now stale cakes which rested on the counter. “And you’ve got a personal baker, too.” She changed the subject, preferring to keep this situation light and easy.

Alex scoffed, “who’s to say I didn’t cook them?”

Jo shot Alex a pointed look, a look which quickly told him that she didn’t believe that—and nothing he could say would make her. But for fun, she adds, “and you said cook rather than bake.”

Alex grumbles, “you’re an ass.” A grin spread across Jo’s face as she watched Alex smirk from behind his beer, raising her own bottle of the bittersweet liquid to her lips. 

She couldn’t fight the smile growing wider on her face as she shook her head and laughed, “Let’s not talk about my ass in your kitchen, please.”

Alex’s own smirk widened, “but it’s such a nice ass. Be proud of it.”

“Oh, my God,” Jo groaned right arm crossing over her torso and left-handed fingers rubbing her forehead as her skin involuntarily heated up in embarrassment. Really, Jo really didn’t mind Alex complimenting her, even in the way he was. In fact, the only person who ever really hyped her up before now was Lexie—it was nice to hear it from a guy she enjoyed hooking up with.

“I’m not wrong,” Alex’s low voice murmured to her, leaning in so his warm breath ghosted across her neck, attempting to get back to what they were up to earlier. “Come on,” he mumbles before grabbing her small hand and pulling her back the way they came then up the stairs into his bedroom.

Jo bit the inside of her cheek, glancing at the back of his head, following him without a word. She had no plans to protest, they both knew the reason why they decided to come back here. She giggles as he pulls her into his room, slapping her ass before she turns to plant another searing kiss onto his lips, not breaking apart as they fell onto his bed.

A few hours later, she lay in the same bed, sheets covering her chest as Alex returns from his quick trip back down to the kitchen to grab them both another drink. She accepts the drink with a grin, taking a sip before turning her body around to place it on the bedside table. Alex didn’t just take a sip, of course, Jo watched as he gulped the thing down and rested in his spot besides her. She didn’t want to overstay her welcome, but she knew that Alex understood she now had more alcohol in her system and it probably wasn’t best for her to get behind the wheel again until the morning. 

Jo picked up her glass again, muttering a quiet question, “How many people live here?” into the rim before taking a sip, hearing Alex’s low chuckle in response—like he was in on some kind of joke. At this point, Jo wondered if her heart would ever calm down around Alex. She didn’t need to be going into cardiac arrest over some stupidly handsome doctor. “Just a question, why’s that funny?”

But Alex wasn’t about to continue the conversation. Taking a sip, the drink went down the wrong pipe and she began coughing because the unexpected sensation of Alex’s hand on her left thigh left her startled, enough to start choking on her drink. Jo put down her glass and coughed into her hand, waving off her Alex’s worried look as he finally answered, “I actually live with an ex.”

Alex’s hand rubbed at her thigh almost comfortingly as Jo took a breath, offering him a confused frown before she commented, “that’s odd,” and Jo felt a shiver slither up her spine as the rough skin of Alex’s palm pressed against the skin of her thigh. Chancing a glance at the brunette, Jo clenched her jaw when she saw that he was casually laughing along with her statement. Like he wasn’t both trying to have sex with her again whilst mentioning his ex—of course, it didn’t bother her but she felt like it was an odd thing to mention as his hand crept up her thigh.

Jo’s back straightened against the soft comforter; a bit astounded at the kind of reactions her body was having to Alex’s touch again. Erratic heart aside, Jo’s stomach tightened into the kind of knots she only ever felt when she was being brought over the edge as she let a guy have his way with her, mind unable to focus on anything except that Alex’s slow, subtle movements were bringing his hand close to the hem of the panties she had put back on only moments before, which would mean his fingers would be able to graze the part of her body that knew would be ready for him again. 

She knew what they were doing, and she knew they both only had a one-track mind when it came to the other.

He, on the other hand, was revelling in the fact that he was able to touch Jo because since the moment he had ran back up to his room, seen the way her now messy hair splayed across his pillow and her long legs peak from underneath his sheets, he had been dealing with an almost uncomfortable tightness in his usually loose underwear and nearly groaned at the sight of her.

If Jo was truly uncomfortable with Alex touching her, he never would’ve laid a hand on her, but she wasn’t doing anything to shove his hand off—this is what they had been doing all night. How could she? She loved it. Voice low, Jo attempted to keep up the conversation, although breathlessly, “I could never live with my ex, I’d end up killing him.”

Alex’s smirk merely widened, having heard her loud and clear, he let his thumb stroke her skin and it was taking all of Jo’s willpower not to bite down on her lower lip at the feel of his touch. She didn’t need him to know that he had this much power over her. Was he seriously going to keep his hand there the entire time? Was he not going to do something?

Just then, Alex lifted his hand from Jo’s thigh to pick up his bottle, drinking the small remnants of liquid left in there. And while Jo felt like she could breathe again once his hand was gone, she also felt a pang of longing at the absence of his touch, already missing it.

Shit, she was a mess. She craved for Alex’s touch despite lying in his bed right next to him. “It’s a big house and we work weird hours,” he states, turning to gaze down at Jo, “you guys mustn’t have ended on the best terms then?” He smirks, eyebrows raising in questioning, Alex’s familiar touch returning back to her thigh. Hand rubbing up and down her skin as his other tousled at her hair, teasingly. Jo glanced at him, the sight of his sharp jaw and cute nose and exposed neck had Jo clenching her jaw and swallowing inaudibly.

It was unfair he looked as good as he did.

“Nope, we didn’t. He wasn’t a good guy,” was all she said as she glanced away from Alex’s face and around the dark space of his room, hoping she didn’t actually dampen the mood this time.

“You want me to throw some punches?” Alex was really messing with her right now, his not-so-innocent touches driving her crazy. Jo didn’t think too much into his words—knowing he was just teasing her, trying to make her giggle and blush whilst his fingers inched closer and closer to where she wanted him most.

Ruffling her long wavy hair falling around her shoulders and running her fingers through her hair in hopes to cool herself off just slightly, she giggles at his question. “You’d do that for me!?” She exclaims, gasping as she mocks. Smiling at the way Alex’s head falls whilst laughter spills from his lips.

Before she knew it, Alex hands were off her thigh and on Jo’s face whilst his lips were also on hers, pushing her body so she was lay flat on her back and he was hovering over her, capturing her mouth into a kiss that swallowed her gasp. Jo forgot every single thought that was in her mind and kissed Alex back with just the same amount of urgency he was depicting, melting into him effortlessly.

Alex’s lean body covered Jo’s below him, her lips moving with Alex’s in synchronicity. Their mouths were hot against each other’s, passionate kisses filled with caressing tongues and soft bites being exchanged as Alex’s hands gripped her hips, his touch practically searing through her the thin fabric of her panties and burning her skin. Jo’s left arm was wrapped around Alex’s neck to pull him close, hand playing with the tuffs of hair at the back of his neck while her other hand cupped his jaw, absolutely loving the feeling of scruff against her palm.

Her heart was thundering, and his head was spinning, both utterly lost in the feeling and taste of each other. They were lost in each other within moments, every bit of their senses taken captive by the other.

“You lie here like this and don’t expect me to wanna’ touch you,” Alex mumbled against her lips, voice raspy as his right hand slid up her thigh, leaving a fire in his wake as his hand lazily slid right up to her ass. Jo’s head fell back against the soft pillow, lips parting with a gasp as Alex’s hand squeezed the flesh, his underwear tightening even more so as his hooded gaze locked onto her pretty open mouth. He nipped at her full lower lip, feeling her fingers in his hair tighten gloriously as he said against her mouth, “Makes me wonder if we can keep this up all night.”

Using her grip on his head, Jo pushed Alex towards her, capturing his lips in a sucking kiss that ignited a fire in the pit of her stomach before kissing up his scruffy jaw until she reached his ear. Alex’s grip on her ass tightened she lightly bit at his lobe, all rational thought and worries out of her head as she whispered, “Only one way to find out.”

A low, almost animalistic growl sounded from Alex as soon as Jo uttered those words, hands slipping from her ass only so he could properly grip the back of her thighs and tug them up. She gasped, startled, eyes widening only for a second as her legs automatically wrapped around Alex’s hips and watched with a lustful excitement sparking up in her dark eyes as he caressed her bare skin.

All Alex could think about in this moment was Jo; Jo’s hands reaching behind him to leave scratches down his back, Jo’s tongue exploring ever crevice of his mouth, Jo’s soft skin withering under his. Jo, Jo, Jo.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> one more chapter pre-witten then I think updates will change to weekly :)


	5. Chapter 5

When her eyes opened at eight thirty the next morning,  Lexie groaned in aggravation at being up so early. While her eyes felt heavy, begging to go back to sleep,  Lexie couldn’t fall back into a slumber like she wanted to, so she reluctantly decided it was time for her to get up , leaving Jackson’s sleeping form behind . It wasn’t until she freshened up in the bathroom and walked across the hall that  she noticed Jo ’s door was wide open, giving a view of the perfectly made bed, which ultimately had  Lexie realizing she wasn’t even home. Hell would have to freeze over if  Jo got out of bed before ten  on a Sunday .

Lexie ’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion as she checked her phone for the first time while walking to the kitchen, seeing that she had a message from  Jo that only said  _ I’m with  _ _ Alex _ _ , don’t worry! I’ll see you in the morning!! _ Realization dawned on  Lexie , smothering a scoff as she shook her head in amusement and entered the kitchen, the cold wood panelling of the floor sending a brief shiver up her spine.

Jo spent the night with  Alex and  Lexie didn’t have to wonder what they got up to, and she’s hoping the guy lived up to  Jo ’s  already high expectations from the week before .

Jackson was still asleep, unsurprisingly, so  Lexie went into the kitchen and put a chocolate fudge pop-tart in the toaster to eat. But while she waited, silently scrolling through social media on the phone, the front door opened and  Lexie glanced over, craning her neck slightly to see around the pillar as  Jo walked into the house. Still in the clothes from last night, though most of her makeup was off and  her usually shiny and soft brown hair tied into a haphazard ponytail, and  Lexie instantly recognized the walk-of-shame look.

“Fun night?” she smirked right when the door shut.

“Oh, Jesus!”  Jo  gasped, literally jumping at the sound of  Lexie ’s smug voice as she pressed a hand to her forehead and found her best friend in the kitchen, eyes wide. “Scared the shit out of me, L ex .”  Jo wandered in lazily as  Lexie remained leaning against the counter waiting for the toaster behind her, raising an expectant eyebrow at her best friend. An airy scoff escaped  Jo with a roll of her eyes, smiling as she admitted, “ Oh my god,  _ yes _ . It was f un— _ again _ .  _ He  _ was fun,” she corrected, smile turning coy.

“Yeah?”  Lexie inquired with an anticipating smile, arms crossing over her chest. Sounded like  Jo ’s night ended a lot better than he rs—the group had all came back to the apartment, Jackson and Steph having a little too much which resulted in her semi-boyfriend passing out in the bathroom, and Lexie dragging him back to her bedroom as Steph threw up in the sink .  She needed to hear about her friend’s night to cheer herself up.  “ Details, please, give ‘ em to me.”

Jo let out a blissful sigh, walking further into the kitchen and leaning against the counter opposite of where  Lexie stood across the kitchen. “Well,” she began, grinning, lacing her fingers together and holding her arms in front of her and cracking her knuckles. “After you  guys left , we both realised we wanted the same thing— _ lots and lots _ of sex . Lots of flirting, some not-so-innocent touching,” she wiggled her eyebrows, eliciting a laugh from  Jo . “Then after  we hooked up in the back of my car, we went back to his place.”

The toaster dinged and Lexie placed the hot treat on a plate, wondering if Jo’s cheeks were hurting from the smile she had on. She was obviously smitten, and Lexie hoped that this was a sign in the right direction for Jo. “Then we cracked open some beers, got to talking… Little bit of kissing and then a couple of rounds of, honestly, the best sex I’ve ever had  _ again _ .”

Lexie ’s eyebrows shot up, lips turning downwards, impressed, as she picked the pop-tart up with her fingers and took a bite of it, the hot fudge deliciously sweet on her tongue. “ You talked this time , huh?”  Lexie grinned after swallowing the bite, giggling slightly as  Jo nodded and grinned widely. Now that  Lexie really looked at her, she realized  Jo did have that after-sex glow about her ,  _ again _ .

Jo snorted, shooting her a pointed look as she took out the scrunchie to loosen her hair. “He’s a doctor, Lex,” Jo laughed breathily with an almost disbelieving shake of her head as she looked up at the ceiling briefly. “What are the odds right? Well, he’s about to finish his year as a surgical intern and he actually lives with other doctors too—although we didn’t leave the bedroom for long enough to get a look at them if you know what I mean,” she added with a dreamy sigh.

If Lexie didn’t know any better, then she’d say Jo was in way deeper than her friend thought but voicing her opinion would only cause Jo to back away from the situation. Plus, maybe spending time with Alex  _ was _ that good.

Lexie’s chewing slowed down to a stop at Jo’s words, eyebrows twitching into a frown. “Alright, Jo, relax,” Lexie said with a laugh, quirking an eyebrow almost warningly. Jo looked at her quizzically, detecting Lexie’s expression. “I love you and I’m super happy you’re getting what you want, but you didn’t learn anything else about this guy?”

Jo rolled her eyes. “Come on, we used a condom and I’m taking birth control so no STD’s here,” she shrugged before gesturing to her body, not seeing any fault in doing what she was doing as long as she was safe. But she gets where Lexie’s fear came from—her friend had once hooked up with someone who stole their toaster and TV remote. Neither of them was  really sure as to why they decided on leaving the TV, but he was never seen again. And ever since Lexie had been wary of Jo’s antics, albeit they weren’t often but she still worried all the same. “At the end of the day, if he was  gonna ’ kill me or  _ steal _ from us then he would’ve done it by now.”

“ So, he’s the same age as Jackson then,  _ or _ ?”  Lexie with a quirk of a brow, biting into the pop-tart once more as she stared at her friend questioningly.  Lexie would move past the fact they barely knew one another because she  would support her through whatever as her best friend, but that didn’t mean she agreed with her all the time or even understood what she wanted.  Jo was confusing as hell, but she guesses it came with the whole being abandoned  _ shtick _ .

“ Twenty-seven? ”  Jo both answers and questions , grinning impishly as Lexie nods . “ I feel like I actually have something in common with a guy,  _ finally _ .  It’s a miracle!” she cheered, throwing her hands in the air before  Lexie hissed at her to shush since  Jackson was asleep.  Jo ’s eyes widened apologetically, hands covering her mouth as a short laugh escaped  Lexie . “Sorry,” she whispered before pushing herself off the counter. “I’m  gonna shower and I need to get some work done .”

“You got that just from learning he ’s becoming  a surgeon?” Lexie asks, watching as Jo begins to retreat to the bathroom, stopping as Lexie’s voice called out.

Jo shrugs, “it was just easy, Lex.” Her voice is soft as a small grin spreads across her lips and she leans against the wall , “it was nice, because we knew we didn’t have to try and impress one another, you know? Like, we both knew what it was, there was no fear that the other was  gonna ’ get cold feet when they find out you’re, like …  _ damaged _ or whatever.”

Lexie’s face softens as she listens to her friends words, “you’re not damaged, Jo,” she shakes her head softly, watching as Jo shrugs her shoulders once again—trying to play off her insecurities, the  same way she always did. “You were comfortable with him.” She states, fully processing what Jo was telling her.

Jo confirms Lexie’s deduction with a breathy laugh, shaking her head as she glanced up to the ceiling, “there was no pressure, we  talked, and we didn’t have to worry about the crap that was spilling out of our mouths.” They laughed together, Lexie nodding in understanding as Jo sent her a final smile before pushing herself from the wall and making her way to the bathroom.

With her out of the kitchen,  Lexie was left by herself eating her sweet breakfast, though once  Jo was gone the frown returned to  Lexie ’s fake as she slowly chewed.  Jo ’s words regarding  Alex had left an uncomfortably clench in the pit of  Lexie ’s stomac h . Lexie remembered how much  Jo was hurting when they  she and Jason broke up, going to her  bedroom and comforting her— for the first time ever, Jo  hadn’t attended her classes or even picked up any of her study books. Lexie wanted to see Jo back out there, she really  _ really _ wanted to see it, but now she was worried that Jo was going to end up falling for someone who wasn’t available. Although Jo may claim she’s the one unavailable.

Hours later, once  Jo had jumped into the shower a nd Jackson was up to start  his  day,  Jo sat in one of the  living room  chairs that  faced the television, medical journals splayed out on her lap, coffee table and stacked on the floor .  Jo could hear the fuzzy sound of their old television playing something she paid no mind to , as well as inhaling the dusty smell of the old books in her hands . It was sunny outside , which is  why the curtains were drawn shut and Jo used the lamp for light instead preferring the artificial lighting against the pages of the books .

“Little bit of light reading  on your weekend off ?” Jackson ’s voice teased, prompting  Jo to glance up and see her step  out from Lexie’s bedroom , looking  hungover with his bedhead and eye-bags .  Jackson hadn’t been in any condition to drive so Lexie had took off to the grocery store to re-stock the kitchen cupboards.  He didn’t really like  Lexie taking off on her own , especially since  Jackson w as  a surgical intern and barely got two weekends off , so  he didn’t get to see  Lexie as much as they’d like. But there was no getting him up at the hour Lexie left.

“Yeah,”  Jo laughed lightly, glancing down at the book before smiling at the guy who was becoming her friend. “I’ll probably be called into work later, so I want to get some work done before the inevitable .”  Jo was about a quarter of the way through the work she had planned to do .

Jackson nodded as he sat down on the chair to Jo’s left, squinting at the television, pretending to focus on the screen in front of him. Despite the amount of alcohol, he had drunk last night, other than his messy hair and the bags under his eyes, Jackson still managed to look perfect. Jo, on the other hand, didn’t drink half the amount but felt she looked like a complete slob today—her messy bun was falling apart, skin slightly blotchy and dressed in baggy sweatpants. “Hey, how’d everything go with that guy last night … Alex, right?” he asked, turning to face Jo far too eagerly. “Lex mentioned you’d had a real good time, she spared any further details, though.” She laughed lightly when Jackson’s face turned to cringe.

Taking  in the lift of  Jackson’s eyebrow that silently told  Jo there was no use in  feigning off the question .  Obviously, he knew something  Jo wandered off last night, despite being informed of his later intoxicated state . “The guy— Alex —was  great, we had fun ,” she confessed with a half - hearted shrug of her shoulders and a grin which she hoped would satisfy Jackson . “ Did Lexie mention he was also a surgical intern?”

The corner of  Jackson ’s lips tugged upwards. “ She did, I’ve never seen the guy though so guessing not my hospital ,” he added matter-of-factly. 

“ Nope ,”  Jo agreed, pointing at her in agreeing approval before leaning back in the seat. “ Seattle Grace, same as—” Jo cuts herself off, about to mention the name of Lexie’s sister but she’s unsure if Jackson knew that tad-bit of Lexie’s life yet.

“ Oh, Lexie mentioned that’s your first choice for the summer ,”  Jackson said with a slight furrow in h is eyebrows, c learly hearing Jo’s words but choosing to ignore them .

Jo let out a slow breath, eyes flickering forward to  the television that Jackson’s eyes glanced to every so often , the sounds of people enjoying themselves  on the screen .  Jo pressed her lips together in a small smile. “ Probably not my best idea , like,  he’ll be my superior .”

“ Well, you can always join me at Mercy West.”

Jo chuckled, “as if, you’re not even in the top five percent.” Jo watched as Jackson’s eyebrows shot up at her words, lips parting to release a shocked scoff as she sat up eagerly in her chair. “Do you think I spend all this time studying to be mediocre.” With a giggle, she concluded, “I’m going to the best because I will be the best.”

“Wow,” Jackson laughed, eyebrows still risen as she leaned back in the seat, grinning as Jo continued to mock him. Jo nodded along silently a similar grin on her own face, looking down at the hardcover copy of her book before Jackson spoke up again. “You best hope you get in there because there’ll be no running to this mediocre surgeon if you don’t,” he lowered his voice as his gaze met Jo’s. After a moment, once laughter had died down, Jackson turned to Jo more seriously, “I’m kidding, I don’t doubt that either you or Lexie will be top of your class.”

“I  _ know _ ,”  Jo agreed, her smugness radiating across the room . “ Lexie’s my competition, she knows she’s going down—photographic memory or not .”

“You think you can beat a photographic memory , though?”  Jackson shook h is  head, both continuing to tease one another . “I mean, Lexie’s pretty smart. It’s scary.” At that, Jo’s laughter bubbles over, finding it rather sweet that Jackson was intimidated by Lexie’s brain.

Speaking of the devil, Lexie chose that moment to throw open the door to their apartment and clamber inside with her hands full with grocery bags. Jackson flies off his seat and rushes over to the small woman , pushing the door open wider and grabbing all but one of the bags out of Lexie’s freezing hands. The winter weather hadn’t let up despite the spring sunshine.

Lexie let out a huff as she set the last bag down and pulled off her coat ,  wondering why she had just caught Jo in a fit of giggles . God  fucking knows what these two would be talking about, Jo and Jackson didn’t sit and chat unless Lexie was around usually . “What’s going on here? ”  Lexie repeat s her thoughts  with a huff, trying to catch her breath after all those flights of stairs . “ Are you two  _ finally _ plotting against me? ”

Jackson hummed, returning to grab the final bag and place it on the kitchen counter, placing a quick peck against Lexie’s cold cheek, “Jo was just letting me know how much better than me she is.”

Laughing,  Lexie smirked , “You  didn’t know that already? ”

“Sure,”  Jackson responded , his voice dull as he chose not to argue with the two girls who would team up against him if he chose to disagree .

It’s another few hours later when Jo eventually does get called into work, according to her boss the place was heaving, she wasn’t surprised considering it was a Saturday night and they had reluctantly given her the weekend off anyway. Jo quickly got dressed into her usual work attire, black jeans and a racer back bodysuit—it got sweaty behind the bar and Jo had learned the hard way not to wear t-shirts with sleeves. She flung open her bedroom door to see Lexie sitting on the same spot on the couch where she had left her, watching some show on the TV with Jackson still sitting next to her, the two practically fused to each other’s side. His arm around her shoulders, her legs thrown over his lap they watched the show.

The two of them looked over their shoulders when they heard  Jo  enter the  room , stumbling through trying to get her trainers on .  Lexie  turned to face  her by sitting on her knees and  Jackson merely turning his upper half to look over. “Hey,  Jo ,” she greeted, unfazed by  her presence. “ We’re getting pizza— _ wait _ , why are you dressed?”

Jo glanced at  Lexie, still attempting to get her right shoe on her foot as she leant against the  doorway and was surprised slightly when  she did nothing but frown. She usually ran to try and block the front door,  “ because  _ shockingly _ , I have to work.”

Lexie’s eyes narrowed up at her friend and Jo, finally having two shoes on, shifted her weight from one foot to the other. Clearly that wasn’t the answer Lexie had hoped for, and Jo had the urge to admonish her for being childish. It felt that lately Lexie was forgetting that Jo was struggling with money, something which she had struggled with her whole life. Which, in this case, upset Jo. Lexie was so comfortable in her own life that she forgot that Jo still had her own problems—and finding a boyfriend wasn’t one. Even if Lexie was adamant that it was.

Jo shot Charlotte a sharp look, silently telling her to stop looking at her like that , though she only smiled back innocently.  Jo huffed, mildly annoyed; why did she even bother?

“Oh, by the way,” Lexie was saying when Jo grabbed her keys and made her way towards the door, “Jackson was saying earlier—his work friends are having a party. You should bring Alex.”

“Sounds fun, I don’t think so,” Jo grins widely, shooting them both a pointed look which tells them it wasn’t up for discussion. “Inviting Alex kind of defeats the purpose of what we’re doing,” she then added, glancing at Jackson and Lexie a final time before swinging open the door and running down to her car.

A party was the last thing on Jo’s mind right now ,  until spring break came in a few weeks then her spare time will be filled with studying—and hopefully Alex . She didn’t want to be presumptuous ; they hadn’t exactly agreed on how often they would see one another. She guesses he’ll call when he needs to and she’ll do the same, now that they’ve finally exchanged numbers anyway.

And asking Alex was completely out of a question. Attending a party with one another is way too much for two people who had agreed they were only looking for a sexual relationship. Sometimes Jo wondered if Lexie got confused, thinking that Jo was one of them girls who said they were fine but they were really the opposite, Jo was one to tell the truth or just avoid it. Lexie knew that, she knew Jo better than anyone, but maybe she chose to ignore it.

The music mixed in with the sounds of  drinks clinking and people enjoying themselves, whether it be  at the bar or next to the pool table or  sat in one of the booths, where only silhouettes of people could be seen due to the dark lighting of the bar . There was a slight breeze that carried in w hen  people entered and exited ,  something  Jo found herself enjoying as she took a sip from the second  glass of water she was nursing , the heat of the crowded bar getting to her.

“Hey,  can you hurry up, ”  Billy ’s voice sounded, prompting her to glance up from where she was  standing . She had been rushed off her feet since she got there, both Billy and their boss throwing tasks at her , and  Jo thought she had found a few good seconds to take a breather .

“ I’m dehydrated, give me a sec ,” she responded, smiling up at him, choosing to keep it civil rather than get snappy .

Billy pulled back, returning to the front of the bar to serve another customer. “If you can’t handle being on your feet for a few hours how do you think you’ll feel when you become a doctor,” Billy mutters under his breath, but Jo catches it loud and clear. It wasn’t a comment she hadn’t heard before, ever since she had informed Billy and the rest of the guys that she was in med-school and by the time summer came she would be moving on they had thrown snarky comments at her. Insinuating she wasn’t smart enough or that she didn’t have enough stamina, whilst they never said it was because she was a woman—she felt that it was  _ very much _ because she was a woman. “She won’t be long.” Billy snaps to a waiting customer.

Laughing lightly, Jo turns on her heel . “Yeah,  yeah, I’m here ,” she responded, placing her hands on the counter, and raising a brow at the customer in question .

He listed off his order and thanked her, leaving Jo to get on with pouring the drinks. A few short moments later, the drinks are in the guys hands and Jo is smirking smugly up at Billy—his blue eyes rolling and his blonde bushy eyebrows frowning. If he wasn’t such an ass then Jo would probably have thought he was attractive, Billy was tall with broad shoulders and a charming smile, but his attitude was rotten.

“You run out on me and still work at my favourite bar ? Bold move.”

Jo’s back straightened at the sound of the familiar voice, looking up at her right to see the one person she had hoped she wouldn’t every have to see again. Jason walked over, dressed in jeans and white t-shirt and expression strangely smug. Jo inhaled sharply as he leaned against the bar in font of her, feeling the muscles in her neck tense with the action as she kept her gaze on the flex of his arms—trying to focus on something so she didn’t start freaking it. She had managed to stay hidden from Jason the odd times she seen him here, but that had only been once or twice. He didn’t come here often, considering he claimed this was his favourite bar—the one where they met.

“ I didn’t—you know I didn’t run out on you, we broke up ,” was her flat response,  wishing that Billy had chosen now to start shouting orders at her . 

“Oh, so you’re  _ not  _ gonna apologise, I haven’t seen you since?” Jason mused, his words nearly sending Jo choking on her own saliva as she turned to stare at him with eyes widened with incredulity.

“Apologise?” she repeated with a scoff, leaning away from him slightly as her eyebrows shot up. “What the hell do I have to apologize for?” If anything, Jason should be apologizing to her for everything that happened between them. How did he have the audacity to even expect an apology from her? She’s done nothing wrong, for God’s sake.

Jason’s smug smile only grew  as a Drake song began playing throughout the beach, his Adam’s apple bobble as he swallowed before raising an eyebrow at her. “For  leaving me , I had to hear from your roommate that we were over, ” he answered matter-of-factly.

Jo blinked at the  dark-haired guy, wondering if he  were already drunk or something to  assume, she would apologize for that. Yeah, it may have been rude of her to just leave like that but in her  defence , she had good reason s . She didn’t need to explain herself to him—especially because he  _ knows  _ what he did.  Jason may not be  fully  aware  about what she knows, but that doesn’t really matter in her opinion. Saying it in the first place was the issue.

“Think of it as a humbling experience,” she retorted, looking away from him with a dismissing shake of her head.

“But leaving after we agreed to move in together like that?” Jason hummed; the mere sound filled with contempt. “Pretty disrespectful, don’t you think?”

Was he still talking? Better yet—was  _ he  _ really telling Jo her actions were disrespectful? incredulous expression once again took over Jo’s face as she looked at him, brows drawn together, and eyes widened. With an indignant scoff, she responded, “Says the guy who treated me like crap  _ repeatedly _ .”  _ And who  _ _ preferred _ _ to spend his nights with some blonde co-worker. _

The look on the jerk’s face was priceless when her words registered in his mind, blinking in surprise at the knowledge of  Jo finally sticking up for herself against him . Her lips stretched into the fakest sweet smile she could manage, eyes silently challenging him to come up with a response to what she said, knowing he probably couldn’t  bullshit his way out of this. The best he could do was apologize and leave her alone so  Jo wouldn’t have to deal with him again.

“ I loved you, Jo. It wasn’t my fault you aren’t capable of feeling the same .”

Jo ’s lips parted at that, eyebrows lifting in disbelief once more. Was he serious? That’s what he chose to say—not even an apology? Sometimes it genuinely floored  Jo how full of themselves certain people could be—a little humility in a person was a good thing, but she knew Jason and she knew people like Jason weren’t like that .  Jo dug  sneakers into the ground to anchor the irritation that began to spark, as she mentally debated how much she wanted to chew off  Jason ’s head. While not one for verbally aggressive confrontation,  Jo would be damned i f she let Jason get to her once again .

“There you are,  Jo —been  lookin ’ everywhere for you.” She turned her head to the left where the familiar voice came from, feeling a smile automatically curl at her lips as she saw  Alex walk over. He also wore his  jeans ,  the dim glow of the bar lights reflecting across his face—at this moment in time, to Jo, he was a literal angel .  Alex smiled, dimples and white teeth, before his gaze flickered to the guy  he was now  s tanding beside and  asked, “ w ho’s this?”

_ Oh, boy _ .  Jo wondered if  Alex came over because he could sense her uncomfortableness, she hadn’t seen him earlier meaning he had to have arrived since Jason approached her .

“Um,” she cleared her throat, glancing at  Jason who was raising an eyebrow up at  Alex , probably sizing him up, before looking back at  Alex and offering an uncomfortable smile. “This is  Jason, an ex .”

Recognition flickered across Alex’s eyes, features hardening as the shadows of the lighting highlighted the clench of his jaw. Jo’s eyes slightly widened at how quickly Alex’s demeanour changed, going from friendly to clear scorn in a matter of seconds. It was odd, she had only mentioned Jason once … told him it was a bad breakup, nothing more. She’s pretty sure he wasn’t even mentioned by name.

Then  Alex ’s lips tilted into a smirk, contemptuous as he lifted his chin a bit. “Oh,  _ you’re  _ the  ass  that couldn’t make  Jo ’s time worthwhile,” he mused tauntingly, words accompanied by an unimpressed pucker of his lips.

Jo looked up at  Alex , rolling her lips into her mouth to suppress the grin threatening to overtake her face as a gust of wind coming from the open bar door swayed her hair,  brunette strands tickling her cheek. Maybe  Alex had decided to deliver verbal punches rather than physical ones, which was  definitely better , in  Jo ’s opinion.  She appreciated it, all he knew was that Jo was no longer fond of her ex-boyfriend, and here Alex was, defending her and she didn’t even have to ask. He didn’t even have to know the reason, but he did  _ that _ . For her.

“ I don’t  know what she’s told you,” started Jason ’s response, reigniting the spark of irritation with  Jo as she instantly flashed back to the night that she decided to grab all the things she had over at Jason’s apartment and never speak to him again . She also bristled at how he was talking about her as if she  weren’t s tanding right  in front to him. “But trust me when I tell you, she’s crazy.” He laughed at his words, as if he  was making some sort of joke, he probably thought he was hilarious.

Jo’s teeth clenched as her gaze met Alex’s, whose eyes had narrowed and fingers clenched into a fist at his side, and while she knew Alex wouldn’t hesitate to deliver a punch, she didn’t want anyone to get violent with each other—even though her own hand was itching to attack. She was at work and this was not the place, not getting into fights with people who are full of themselves seemed like the best option.

“Or maybe you’re forgetting all the crap you put me through,” she found herself saying, turning to shoot Jason an overly fake sweet smile. He in turn let out a scoff through a condescending smile, shaking his head as if what Jo were saying couldn’t be further from the truth. 

Jason’s only been standing with Jo for a few moments but her annoyance with him lasted much longer as she turned her full attention to him one last time, glaring up at him. “Your personality is just like your sense of humour—childish and bland.” With a smile that only widened at the sight of his offended glare, she finished, “Totally not worth it—and a waste of my time.”

His lips curled into a frown, looking ready to defend himself. “Hold on a sec—”

Not bothering to let him continue,  Jo swiftly turned to face  Alex , feeling her long hair fly around as her gaze met his.  Alex ’s hardened expression had changed into one of amusement, staring at  Jo with raised impressed eyebrows after having watched that brief exchange. “ I’m not supposed to be here.  Wanna go somewhere that’s not  _ here _ ?”  Jo asked him with a tilt of her head.

Alex ’s gaze lowered and flickered past her, landing on  Jason before returning it to  Jo with a crooked dimpled grin growing on his lips. He tipped his head to the left and the two of them began walking away from  Jason ,  Jo grabbing her purse as Billy barked at her and Alex followed her out of the bar completely confused , “Thought I was the one who was supposed to deliver the punches.” Alex jogged outside behind her, delivering a squeeze to her waist as Jo giggled.

Jo smiled proudly up at him as they walked,  sneakers pacing across the ground  as she playfully responded, “Didn’t mean to steal your thunder.”

“No, no, steal away,” Alex grinned approvingly as they walked past a crowd of people gathered in the parking lot, cheering when their cab arrived. “Your words probably had more of an effect than a punch would.”

Jo laughed, despite the many scents of petrol, smoke, and the lingering remnants of spilt alcohol on her clothing Jo could distinctly smell the boy next to her; fresh aftershave and something that was just  _ Alex  _ that she was now very familiar with. So comfortable with.

“You just walked out on your job.” He finally spoke up, mind flickering to the events that just transpired inside the bar. He won’t lie, he was completely confused about what had happened, but he had saw her from across the bar and she had looked anything but comfortable, anything but the smiling and happy Jo he had come to get to know. “They  gonna ’ be pissed?”

“Yeah,” Jo chuckled, tilting her head back slightly to look up at the cloudless night sky, stars twinkling overhead as Alex’s eyes went to her profile. She hadn’t bothered with make-up today, Alex noticed, although her wispy eyelashes remained prominent from where he stood gazing down at her. “They’ll be real pissed …” Jo’s voice trails off, “I hate it here.” She adds  quietly .

“Fuck them,” Alex added with a teasing grin, nudging her with his elbow as Jo let out a laugh, leaning away from his prodding—cheering up slightly. “I’m just saying—” her grin widened, “—you’re young and in a few  months' time you’ll be long gone anyway.”

She laughed, “you’re right.” Shivering slightly from the cool breeze, though she didn’t care as she shook her hair out of her face and grinned over at Alex, who was smiling back at her, reassuringly. “But this is my friends’ favourite bar,” Jo responded before looking at him with raised eyebrows. “We’re  gonna ’ have to start going to that complete dive, with the  _ crackheads _ , down the street.”

Alex glanced at her, a boyish smirk tilting at his lips as he smoothly said, “nah, I know a place.” He holds a handout towards her, and without a second thought she places her own in his. “Come on, the bathroom there is way cleaner …" he winks as his voice trails off and he pulls her along with him.

Jo’s jaw dropped at his words, in amusement, as Alex looked straight ahead as they continued walking to his car. His comment and the look on his face that accompanied it were nothing short of suggestive, prompting a flustered heat to unexpectedly spread across Jo’s face and neck to tense as inappropriate thoughts regarding her and Alex began fluttering through her mind. It was an automatic response her subconscious stirred up and she wished that it hadn’t because now she felt like she needed to head back inside and order a big glass of water to cool off.

Thinking about Alex like  _ that  _ was not uncommon on Jo’s part, she knew. It was practically all she thought about lately, but things felt a little differently this time.

And she couldn’t put a finger on as to why.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> almost 6,000 words later ...


	6. Chapter 6

The next few days had been _surprisingly_ relaxing and peaceful for Jo, despite the fact that it was a house where three twenty-something year old's were living in (Jackson was becoming a permanent fixture of the small, two-bedroom death trap ( _as Alex had decided to lovingly name her apartment_ )). The three of them mostly stuck to doing their own thing; Jackson worked crazy hours as an intern, Lexie preffered to study at the library and Jo preferred the comfort of her own couch. A luxury she never used to have. 

Their spring break had begun just two days ago, and now jobless—Jo's days were pretty low key, except for when she went to their new bar with Alex, or he came over and vice versa. Of course, she only visited when his house was free from prying roommates to save them both answering questions. Because that was why they were doing this thing in the first place—to avoid labels and all the other crap that came with relationships. But if she wasn’t with Alex, then she was studying or job searching—she could swear she could hear her credit card weeping every time she visited the store.

Her low key day continued as she once again relaxed on the couch, finishing off the rest of her medical book as Alex lay on the couch to her left—a rare day off. Lexie and Jackson were both out of the apartment, as far as Jo knew, though she really didn’t keep track of them at this point. They could be having a mid-day nap for all she knew.

The peace was suddenly interrupted, however, when Jo’s phone began vibrating and one look at the caller I.D. had her groaning in distaste, head tilting back and eyes shutting tightly as Alex threw a questioning look towards her. Oddly, it was Thatcher, Lexie’s father, was calling and Jo would much rather throw her phone out the second story window rather than answer the call. She only had his number because Lexie was terrible at answering his calls, even during the holidays or anniversaries, so when Lexie had dragged Jo along to visit him, he had insisted that he have Jo’s number just in case. Whilst Jo knew that Lexie adored her father and Jo herself thought he had moments of being kind-of interesting due to his medical background … Thatcher’s traditionalist and republican nature in general just didn’t agree with Jo, especially when he was passive-aggressively trying to throw her views at the people around her.

“Hi, Mr. Grey,” she greeted, hoping her cheerful tone didn’t sound as forced as Alex’s smirk telling her it was. She waved him off as he snorted.

“Jo, hello sweetheart,” came the man’s honeyed response. “How are you?”

Jo put in her bookmark and shut the book, leaning back against the cheap couch as she gazed up at the inside of the red umbrella. “I’m good, how about you?”

“Wonderful,” Thatcher chirped. “Lexie told me that you two have got a week off school. Lexie’s not answering her calls, so I wanted to ask if you two and your boyfriends would like to come over for dinner?”

Two feelings instantly stirred up in Jo at her Thatcher’s words; one was annoyance towards Lexie for telling Thatcher they both had some free time, and the second was utter confusion that was loud and clear on Jo’s face through the furrow of her eyebrows and bewildered contortion of her expression. “Boyfriend?” was all she could manage out, eyes widening slightly.

“Well, yes,” Thatcher responded with an obvious chuckle. “When Lexie came by, she told me that you couldn’t make it because you were staying over at your new boy's house—you’re not telling me that you’re sleeping over at some man's house without being in a relationship with him? That’d be a shame.”

Jo knew Thatcher, unfortunately, and she knew his shame didn’t mean that it’d be upsetting that Jo wasn’t in a relationship yet—she meant that being a single girl and spending the night with a boy, even if it was temporary, was something akin to sinful. Jo couldn’t help but roll her eyes as his words sank in her mind—Thatcher was the most extreme form of a republican, who still thought a woman’s place is in the house. Despite the fact his ex-wife was an exceptional surgeon, and his daughter was soon to be herself. And while Jo thought there was nothing wrong with a woman who chose the house-wife kind of lifestyle, him trying to impose it on others was tiresome.

She really did regret the very moment, years ago, that she agreed to meet Lexie’s father … she loved spending holidays and important milestones with Lexie, but with Lexie came her father. And over the years, she had been forced to spend enough time with the man.

And for Jo, life went by so much easier by just playing along with Thatcher for the time being rather than reminding her friends dad that her views were totally different. Jo desperately wanted to get out of this dinner, but she knew Thatcher would reschedule it and Jo would end up getting a call from Lexie forcing her to go to Thatcher’s house. But a boyfriend? Where was Jo going to pull that out of?

If she told Thatcher she didn’t have a boyfriend and was, in fact, just sleeping over at a guys—despite the fact that was completely normal—there was no doubt Lexie’s father would start gossiping about Jo’s scandalous behavior to all of his old work friends and the rest of Lexie’s family. Jo didn’t need anyone in the only family that had accepted her thinking badly of her, whether it be true or not—Jo actually liked a lot of Lexie’s extended family, mostly her mother's side, though.

“Uh, no, no,” she hesitantly lied, taking a breath as she made up her mind to try to go along with this. “Of course I’m here with my boyfriend.” Suddenly Jo could feel Alex’s gaze on her, and she glanced over, taking in his brown eyes glinting with curiosity, eyebrows drawn upwards in startled confusion as he wondered what the hell Jo was talking about. She shook her head with a brief dismissive roll of her eyes, silently telling him she’ll explain later. “I’ll, um, let him and, uh, Lexie and Jackson know and we’ll come by for dinner.”

_Oh, my God—what was I doing?_

“Perfect!” Thatcher cheered, clearly overjoyed at his daughter's best friends' acceptance. “Be here by seven—I’ll get my wife to make chocolate mousse cups; I know how much you like them.”

At the mention of the dessert, Jo perked up a little bit; Mrs. Grey did make ridiculously delicious chocolate mousse. “Alright, great, I’ll see you then.” After he bid her goodbye and ended the call, Jo dropped her phone on the couch and let out a heavy sigh, closing her eyes briefly because what had she just done? She could barely handle Thatcher, how was she going to subject someone else to him?

“Didn’t know you were in a relationship,” Alex’s playful tone sounded, making Jo look at the amused expression lighting up his face. Quirking an eyebrow, he turned his attention away from the television and prodded, “Care to explain?”

Jo rubbed her hands down her face, pressing her lips together before her expression became one of helplessness. “Lexie’s dad invited us for dinner, and he thinks I have a boyfriend because I couldn’t possibly be staying at some guy's house without being with the guy.”

“Is this the Christian republican parent?” Jo nodded, lips pouting slightly. “So, he’d rather you, someone who isn’t even his daughter, be staying with a guy you’re in a relationship with before, like, marriage than with a guy that’s just your friend?”

Jo sighed. “Yes.”

Alex looked utterly bewildered at her words, though she didn’t blame him because despite knowing the man for years now, Jo sometimes didn’t even understand Thatcher’s thought process. Didn’t some hardcore religious people believe it was a sin to live with a significant other before marriage like Alex pointed out? 

“So, uh,” Alex frowned briefly, and Jo could just see his mind trying to work its way around Thatcher’s thinking. Good luck with that, buddy. “You need a fake boyfriend for dinner tonight?” he asked with a short, disbelieving laugh.

“Yup,” Jo huffed sharply through her nose, glancing behind them at the glass door leading into the house as she pinched her lips to the side. “I could probably ask Isaac from school, he’d totally do it … but then again, do I want to even pretend to be in a relationship with Isaac Cross.”

Alex blinked; brown eyes almost translucent against the sunlight that streamed through the window as he glanced at the door as well before looking back at the brunette. “Uh, excuse me,” he tonelessly said, holding his hands out. “Should I be offended you didn’t even think of asking me?”

This time Jo stared at Alex in surprise, not expecting that response. “Oh, uh,” she awkwardly cleared her throat, suddenly feeling embarrassed when he raised his eyebrows expectantly. She didn’t mean for him to feel left out. “I, um, didn’t think you’d, like, wanna do it.”

His eyebrows lowered into a frown. “Why not?”

_Because we both specifically agreed this was a friends-with-benefits deal? Pretending to be my boyfriend_ **_again_ ** _when I vowed, I did not want a boyfriend? Because this could make things messy? Or was I just overthinking this like the anxious freak that I am?_

When Jo stayed silent by nervously chewing on her lower lip, apparently it was enough for Alex to understand exactly what was going through her mind as his features relaxed into realization. “Because of what I said, about not wanting a girlfriend?” he knowingly asked, voicing Jo’s very thoughts as she rolled her lips into her mouth guiltily, causing Alex to scoff slightly as he sat up. “Come on, Jo, don’t be ridiculous. That doesn’t mean I can’t help you out, I’d like to think we’re friends as well.” He shrugged, offering her a small smile. “I’m just doing you a favor.”

The look in his light eyes were sincere, smile encouraging with a small persuasive lift of his eyebrows. And if Jo was being honest, the sight of his close-mouthed smile that showed off the cute dimples in his cheeks made quick work of making Jo agree with him without much of a fight. Alex was right; he was just doing her a favor and there was no harm in that. Lexie wouldn’t mind Alex being her faux boyfriend for the evening—after all, it was Lexie’s fault that she found herself in this mess. No big deal. If only her roommate answered her damn phone.

Thatcher lived in one of the upper scale neighborhoods in Seattle, near the end of a cul-de-sac, which was easily noticeable when Alex drove down the street and they passed two to three story houses that all looked like they got a new coat of paint. The trees lining up the sidewalks rustled in the wind, the breeze blowing through Lexie and Jo’s hair as the window parted and Lexie pointed to the left. “It’s the blue house.”

Alex nodded, pulling the car into the driveway behind a Buick before killing the engine. Jo let out a sigh while unbuckling her seatbelt, the dread already stirring in her stomach as she got out and looked up at the two story house, unprepared for whatever lay inside it. Glancing at Alex as he got out, Jo couldn’t help but smile slightly; she was grateful that he was here, ready to play the role of her boyfriend just so Lexie’s family wouldn’t think she was some kind of sinning brat. Which was, in Jo’s opinion, a dramatic overreaction but that’s just how Thatcher was. 

She wishes she didn’t care, wishes that it was no big deal whether or not Lexie’s family liked her. But it was. After everything, years of being alone—Lexie was the first person who really made Jo feel like she was a part of something, like she finally had people. Lexie was the person that was always in her corner, and with Lexie came her family, a family which had welcomed her in no exceptions. Even if Thatcher was incredibly hard to deal with, he was important to Lexie. Therefore, important to Jo.

“You ready for this?” Jackson asked as they stepped onto the porch, right in front of the white door. Nerves also radiated off him as he awkwardly smiled, Jo hadn’t even realised … this would also be the first time Jackson was meeting Lexie’s parents.

Exhaling sharply, Jo ran her fingers through her hair and nodded, shooting Jackson a small encouraging smile. He probably needed it more than she did. No doubt Thatcher would ask her and Alex questions about their relationship, and because she’s been friends with Alex for a mere couple of weeks and they could stand to know one another a little better, establishing was how long they’ve been together was the least of her worries. But Jo decided three months—even so far as coming up with their first date being a picnic—it was simple, very Jo. While everything else could just be derived from their preexisting friendship, I mean, they still spent time with another. Maybe not as much time as an average couple, but they spoke a lot … although the only thing they could class as ‘going on a date’ was heading to the bar. Shouldn’t be too bad, right?

As Lexie rings the doorbell with a wide and eager smile, Jo bit the inside of her cheek as they waited, glancing at Alex as he smiled reassuringly just as the door opened, revealing Lexie’s father. She looked a lot like Jo’s mother, though her hair was a darker shade of red and nose slightly crooked from being set poorly after she had broken it when she was fourteen.

“Hi, honey!” He greeted Lexie happily, pulling Lexie in for a hug and engulfing her before he turned to Jo. “Aw, it’s so good to see you.” Jo smiled up at him, returning the hug he then engulfed her in before they pulled away and his dark eyes flickered over to the two tall men next to her.

Oh, here we go. “This is Jackson,” Lexie introduced, “oh! And erm, Jo’s Alex …" Lexie quickly added, gesturing between the two. “Jackson and Alex, this is my father, Thatcher.”

Lexie had returned home about two hours after Jo’s phone call with her father, Jackson wasn’t due back to their place for another hour, but Jo managed to clue Lexie in on the entire situation. After several rounds of giggling, and a few jokes here and there about Jo finally had a boyfriend, albeit fake—Lexie had agreed to help Jo pretend that Alex was now her boyfriend. Not that there was ever a doubt in Jo’s mind that her friend would say no.

Jackson offered that charming, dimpled smile that he could most definitely use to get away with things, and Alex a crooked grin but it was a smile that Jo found widening her own as he held out his hand. “It’s great to meet you,” he said, shaking his hand before Jackson followed his lead.

Thatcher shook Jackson’s hand, the smile on his face easily telling Jo and Lexie that Alex and Jackson had effortlessly charmed him already. “You, too. Jackson, Lexie’s told me much about you. Unfortunately, I haven’t heard much of you,” he mused, stepping aside to let them into the house and sending a pointed look to Alex.

“Yeah, all good things I hope,” Jackson responded for them as the door shut behind them and Jo looked around the house, she’s only been to less than a handful of times. So, Jo took in the various pictures hung up in the foyer of her Lexie’s family, catching sight of even some of a younger Lexie with all of her cousins. She felt the overwhelming urge to laugh at how dorky Lexie looked when she was younger, but suppressed it when she turned to see Lexie’s glare—the younger girl knowing exactly what Jo was thinking.

After getting the pleasantries out of the way, Thatcher guided the four twenty-odd year old's into the living room, walls and tables decorated with picture frames and paintings as she sat them down on the suede couch while calling for his wife, Lexie’s mother Susan, to come downstairs. Jo felt almost stiff as she sat down, the smile on her face a bit strained and causing her cheeks to hurt a bit as she forced myself to relax. No way would she get through this if already she felt so rigid by her reluctance on being here.

“So, how’s school Jo?” Thatcher inquired after asking all four of them if they wanted anything to drink, Lexie had accepted but the rest had kindly declined. “Lexie mentioned you’re both very eager to finish in a few months.”

“Great, I mean, it’s fine but, erm, yeah … we can’t wait for it be over,” Jo answered, crossing her right leg over her left knee. “I can’t remember the last time I didn’t spend an entire weekend studying.”

Lexie snickers, “I think Jo will actually miss the studying,” mouth full as she crams in one of the biscuits sitting on the coffee table for them.

Thatcher nodded just as heavy footsteps thudded on the stairs, right before Jo caught sight of Lexie’s mother walking into the living room. She grinned, wrapping Lexie in a hug just as the three of them stood up to greet her. “Long time no see, kiddo,” she smiled as Jo hugged the small woman. 

They pulled away and Lexie introduced her to Jackson and then Alex, all shaking hands once again. Jo was slightly surprised that Alex was taller than Uncle Ian by an inch or so, though Alex was taller than most men she knew so it wasn’t too shocking. 

As they settled back down, her aunt and uncle sitting on the smaller couch diagonal of her and Alex as Jo cleared her throat and asked, “how are you both?”

“Old,” Susan answered with a chuckle, before hiccupping which caused Lexie to frown. “We’re hoping to get away soon … Jackson! Lexie tells me you’re an intern at Mercy West, must be tiring.”

Jackson hummed before offering a small chuckle, “just have to keep reminding myself it’ll be worth it.”

Nodding in approval at his words, Thatcher gestured between Jo and Alex. “So how long have you two been together? Lexie never said anything about you seeing anyone until last week, Jo.”

_Oh, boy, here we go._

Glancing at Alex, Jo noticed the easy smile on his face as he met her gaze and his obvious confidence had her looking back at Thatcher and answering, “Three months. You know how I am with relationships—keep ‘em to myself,” she added with a slightly nervous laugh. Lexie never said anything to her family about Jo’s relationship because there obviously wasn’t any relationship to disclose. Not one that was serious anyway.

“We’ve kind-of known each other for a while though,” Alex piped up, leaning back on the couch with his left ankle resting on his right knee, calm and casual. “We met whilst Jo was working, actually. I’ve been going to the bar for a while, can’t say I hadn’t been working up the courage to ask her out.”

“Oh, that’s sweet,” Thatcher smiled, tilting his head to the side. “It’s always nice to get to know someone before looking for something more, isn’t it?”

Jo forced a close-lipped smile at her words, nodding as she hummed in agreement. She couldn’t help but feel awkward, especially with that friends comment because now all she could think about was the fact that it was all a lie. All they knew was one another's names when she dragged him back to her place. They may know one another now, but she highly doubted Alex had noticed her at the bar. Suddenly Jo felt a hand on her knee, glancing down with raised brows to see Alex’s fingers on her knee. The couch caught her off guard a bit, especially when Alex smiled lazily as he said turned to say to Lexie’s parents, “That’s what I kept tellin’ Jo before getting her to finally go out with me. You know the kind of person they are to a certain extent so when you’re dating, nothing can take you by surprise but there’s still some mystery to the stuff that hasn’t been explored, y’know?”

Jo gaped at Alex, hoping her expression didn’t show off any confusion as she wondered what he was doing. The plan was to answer any questions they might have, not give off any information on their own accord. It just made things slightly more complicated, and Jo and Alex could avoid that from happening, then that’s the way they need to keep things. 

“Agreed,” Susan nodded approvingly at Alex’s words before smiling at her wife. “Thatcher and I had been friends for five years before I worked up the courage to ask her on a date. Been together ever since.” The sweet, loving smile they shared brought a smile to Jo’s lips. Thatcher may drive her and Lexie crazy sometimes, but he and his wife were so cute together. Looking back at Alex and Jo, Susan mused, “I gotta tell you—falling in love with a friend and knowing they feel the same way just brings a much deeper meaning to your friendship, doesn’t it?”

He was asking Jo and Alex, both of whom were glancing at each other for a brief moment as Jo’s lips parted slightly in hesitant wonder. Alex had a small smile curling at his lips, barely hinting at the dimple in his cheek as Jo felt his hand squeeze her knee, the touch warm through the material of her pants as his smooth voice answered, “Couldn’t agree more, Mr. Grey.”

Looking at Alex, Jo noticed the way the muscle in his jaw was jumping, realizing he must be clenching his teeth despite the smile on his face. She wondered if he was thinking about someone else; after all, the two of them had become friends but there was a lot left for them to know. She wondered if he ever craved that again. To be with someone for more than just one night—to have something deeper. Jo’s brought out of her thoughts at the sound of Lexie almost choking on her cookie, attempting to reign in her laughter as Jackson smirked over at the pair.

Soon enough Susan said she was going to get dinner ready, and Lexie and Jo instantly stood up to help her out in the kitchen, forcing Alex’s hand to fall off her knee as he remained in the living room to converse with Thatcher and Jackson. Maybe being alone with the two women wasn’t the wisest of ideas, but Alex’s hand on her knee had left a searing mark on Jo’s skin through the material of her pants and it was sending shockwaves up her body that she desperately needed to calm down. It made her feel uneasy; she had now become so accustomed to his hands on her body but all of a sudden it was almost too much.

“They’s a handsome pair,” Susan praised as they entered the kitchen, large and open with a center counter where the sink was located. “Nice catch,” she added with a smile, winking over at Lexie.

Jo let out an airy laugh, hoping she didn’t catch any awkwardness in her smile as Jo ducked her head slightly to pick up the hot dish of rigatoni with two dish towels. So far Lexie’s family seemed to like Alex, which was a good start. “Yeah Jackson’s, uh, he’s pretty great for Lex,” Jo answered. That much was the truth—although she was only saying this to defer the conversation away from her and Alex. But she thought Alex was a good guy too, his willingness to help Jo out in this awkward situation proved that much.

Walking into the adjoining dining room, Jo put the dish down on the table that already was set sans the food, hearing Alex and Thatcher talking nearby before returning to the kitchen. “I’m surprised you’re dating again, Lexie mentioned that you were still upset with ... _oh what’s his name_ ,” Susan remarked casually, prompting Jo to pause briefly as she re-entered the kitchen. Holy hell—was there anything that Lexie didn’t tell her mom? Lexie shoots her an apologetic look as Susan brings up a finger to her cheek, trying to recall the name. “ _James? Oh no, Jason! It was Jason_.” Susan exclaims at Jo, like she was also lost for the name, “Lexie thought you were still upset with what happened with that Jason.”

Biting the inside of her cheek, Jo slowly made her way to the fridge to pull out the bottles of soda Lexie had told her to take out. “That was a while ago now,” Jo spoke, treading carefully. She did not want to get into this conversation again, not with Lexie’s family. “I thought it was about time to move on.”

“Still,” Susan hummed, pouring some macaroni salad into a glass bowl as she glanced over at Jo with a wry smile. “You two were preparing to move in together, it was all a bit abrupt wasn’t it, Lex?” She raises her eyebrows up at her daughter but doesn’t wait for her to respond, “you two breaking up seemed so out of the blue, he was lovely … so muscular and very handsome.” She mused out loud.

“I promise you, Susan” Jo spoke up with a slight chuckle as she picked up the two bottles of Coke and two Sprite. “It was not as abrupt as it seemed, we weren’t meant to be.” Jo finishes before shooting Lexie a glare, her apologetic eyes only widened.

Once the table was set, Thatcher sat to Jo’s right and Alex to her left with Jackson and Lexie across from her on the six-person table. But before they could dig in, Thatcher announced they had to say grace and Jo’s one hand grasped his while the other held onto Alex’s. And while everyone closed their eyes and bowed their heads as Thatcher prayed, Jo couldn’t help but glance over at Alex, gaze going from his hand that was holding hers, warm and comforting, before wandering up to his face. 

His dark hair was pushed back, full lips pressed together, and eyes closed. Jo bit the inside of her cheek, unable to tear her gaze away from his profile as the muscle in his jaw instinctively jumped every now and then. Something stirred in the pit of Jo’s stomach as she looked at Alex, something exciting that made ever her heart feel like it was jumping within her chest. It didn’t help that his hand holding hers felt so nice and surprisingly soft, grip comforting.

“Amen,” Thatcher finally finished, causing Jo to blink back into reality—had she really just sat there admiring Alex’s looks?—as everyone repeated the sentiment and released each other’s hands, hadn’t she got used to the man who sat next to her yet. Jo ignored the pang of longing she instinctively felt as her hand let go of Alex’s, swallowing inaudibly as they began digging in. _What the hell was up with her and all these reactions towards Alex_?

The first few moments of dinner were a comfortable silence, utensils clinking and bottles of sodas hissing open, as they ate. Though the silence didn’t last long because after taking a sip of Coke, Thatcher asked, “How is your mother, Jackson?”

He absently nodded, swallowing a forkful of macaroni salad before answering noncommittally before frowning—he hadn’t realised that Lexie’s father knew of his mother, “She’s good.”

“I met her a while back, at the hospital,” Thatcher filled the younger man in, seeing him confused, before his eyes returned back to his plate as she gathered up some pasta and cleared her throat. “Alex mentioned the bar earlier, I guess that means you’re still working there.”

Biting her tongue, Jo’s gaze remained on Thatcher as she felt her stomach drop slightly. When she wasn’t looking for a new job, she was trying to avoid thinking about the fact that she had no job. She lived paycheck to paycheck, now losing her only source of income she was really worried what will happen once rent was due next month, sure Lexie would offer to help—even Jackson mentioned paying towards the bill now he was there more often than not, but it wasn’t just rent. It was gas and groceries and schoolbooks and everything else, she couldn’t rely on anyone for that. She never had.

Swallowing a sip of her Sprite, Jo answered, “Yeah; actually, I quit. I’m looking for a new job, there isn’t much going right now, though.”

Her truthful words made Thatcher’s face contort slightly in concern as Susan hid his own expression by taking another sip of his drink. He never approved of Jo working such a provocative job, as he had put it, with a bunch of leery men surrounding her. Whilst they seemed concerned, they were probably glad that this meant that Lexie would no longer be spending so much time at the dive. The thought makes Jo want to scoff, Lexie was always the first at the bar and almost always the last to leave. She jumped at the chance to join Alex and Jo at Joe’s bar just a few days after Jo had stormed out of their old regular.

Chancing a glance at Alex, Jo noticed the slight furrow in his eyebrows, brown eyes flickering between Lexie’s parents. Then he swallowed and looked over at Jo, raised eyebrows silently asking if she was feeling okay and Jo reluctantly nodded with pursed lips, watching as a look of concern also washed over Alex’s features as he returned his attention back to his food.

“You need to be careful,” Thatcher was saying, making Jo look at him in mild confusion as she shot him a pointed look. “Heaven knows what kind of stuff goes down in dives like the last place.”

_Like what Alex and Jo themselves had done_? Although Thatcher didn’t realise, he was talking about all four young people who sat at this table. Jackson and Lexie weren’t so innocent either. Jo’s grip on her fork tightened, shoulders tensing because since she knew Thatcher, she knew he was insinuating her job wasn’t acceptable—or wouldn’t be acceptable for his Lexie. “It was just temporary, soon you’ll be seeing me in scrubs rather than a pinafore,” she shot back, unable to keep the edge from her tone as Lexie’s mother raised an eyebrow at her from the across the table.

Jo’s jaw tightened as she returned her gaze to her plate with a small shake of her head, tensing up ever so slightly when she felt something on her left thigh. Discreetly glancing down, she caught sight of Alex’s hand laying a comforting touch, gaze flickering to his eyes as her breath hitched in her throat to see him already looking at her. Alex’s expression was cool, calming as he willed her to relax with a squeeze on her thigh, while she tried to ignore the heat that was once again sparking in her skin under his touch through the cotton fabric of her pants. Since when did Alex’s touch set fire through her skin? _Always_.

Fortunate thinking on his part, Jackson changed the topic of conversation when he asked, “So, Alex, you’re an intern at Seattle Grace, right?” Alex blinked slightly, not expecting to be addressed before nodding and Jackson asked with an almost teasing smile, “If everything goes to plan, you guys will be working together in the fall. Their superior, actually.” He gestures to the three of them with a head nod.

“Uh,” she dumbly sounded, mentally cursing herself for looking so lost. Of course, if they weren’t talking about her job, they were suddenly on the topic of her nonexistent relationship with Alex. Although she knows Jackson was now teasing, but she makes a mental note to bring this up once they’re back home. Couldn’t they discuss something that didn’t make her blood boil with irritation or face heat up embarrassingly at a lie? “Well, I mean,” Jo stumbled, throwing Alex a startled glance as he squeezed her thigh. He needed to stop doing that—it was more distracting than anything else. “Alex will only be a resident, erm, we’ll probably just …"

“I think we’re both mature enough to separate work from our relationship, right babe?” Alex smoothly added with a deep chuckle and Jo wished her chest didn’t tighten at the term of endearment that easily slipped past his mouth. It definitely wasn’t the first time he’s called her that—he addressed her as babe quite often actually—but it was the first time Jo felt something far more than just fondness for her friend following the use of it. The kind where she wanted him to call her that again. “We’ll just have to make sure we keep our hands off one another.”

Jo’s eyes widened at his joke, heat rising to her cheeks once again. Glancing over to Lexie, Jo could tell that her friend was having a great time—laughing at Jo’s predicament. “Well,” Thatcher clears his throat, also taken back by the comment, “patients should always come first.” Thatcher conversationally asked, putting some more rigatoni on his plate.

Before Jo could answer, Alex piped up, “that’s true, yeah.” Jo looked at him, eyebrows raising ever so slightly at him taking over, but he kept his gaze on the adults at the table. “But this is still new, and Jo and I can’t stay away from one another.” He says confidently, before shooting Jo a crooked smirk, joining in on the teasing. She decided then and there, she hated them all.

“Though…” Alex trailed off, his brown eyes meeting her dark eyes as she watched silently, taking in the curve of his lips and the hint of a dimple flashing in his cheek. Suddenly Jo felt all the air being rushed out of her lungs, very aware of the subtle way his hand was rubbing her thigh under the table—the others couldn’t see that, so was this him playing his role of her boyfriend really well or just him trying to make her cheeks a brighter shade of red? Coolly, Alex finished, “Nothing really beats bein’ able to see her in person. Best part of my day when I do, so I’m looking forward to the possibility of working together.”

Jo’s throat was dry as she swallowed inaudibly, unable to tear her gaze away from his intense stare as he smiled that boyish half smile that picked up the pace of Jo’s heart. What the hell was going on? She was painstakingly aware of how her mind and body was reacting to what Alex was doing, what he was saying, and it bewildered the hell out of her because that’s just never happened—especially not with Alex. That only happens when Jo’s around boys she knows she likes and she couldn’t possibly like Alex like that. Could she?

She explicitly told herself and all those around her—she did not like him. They were friends with benefits, that was it. She had told him she wanted nothing more. She didn’t want feelings and all the crap that came along with them.

Jo inhaled sharply as Alex leaned back in his chair, hand leaving her thigh as he smiled at Lexie and Susan, who Jo could tell thought his response was utterly sweet—Lexie's face finally void of giggles. She, on the other hand, was left staring at Alex in startled awe because he was playing the role of her fake boyfriend a little too tell, and it caused for an unexpectedly thrilling twist in her stomach. Taking a long sip of her soda, Jo mentally willed for her heart to calm the fuck down, while also wishing Alex would stop smiling at her like she hung the damn moon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> finally decided that this fic will be ten chapters, short and sweet


	7. Chapter 7

Their final week off before the remainder of med-school had gone by in a blur, after the horrific dinner with Lexie’s parents, both Jo and Lexie decided the rest of their week would be low-key. Whilst Steph and Leah had preferred the idea of spending their evenings and mornings in the clubs of Seattle, Jo just really didn’t have the energy or the money to get dressed up and throw money at an overpriced bar. So, the two girls spent most of the time back at their apartment, a few nights at Joe’s. There was once or twice Jo ventured over to Alex’s, but only when Lexie was at Jacksons—the apartment felt lonely without them.

For Jo, what had been surprising, is the new-found friendship that had begun between Jackson and Alex. It almost made her laugh. Since the dinner with Thatcher, the two men had seemingly found that they got on  pretty well . In fact, if Alex wasn’t at work or with Jo—he was with Jackson. Popping out to the grocery store and coming back to find them sat on the couch, cold beer in hands and some game of football blaring on the old  television , had initially been a shock for her. But now it was a regular occurrence.

Honestly, she hadn’t realized how much of an effect seeing him so comfortable in her space had on her until every time she looked at Alex, she felt her stomach do a somersault and warmth to spread up her neck and across her cheeks. And that was just by  _ gazing  _ at him. Jo found herself looking towards Alex when she knew he was in the room and smiling whenever he did the same or when she heard his laugh. Within less than a handful of days, her feelings for Alex had gone from platonic and purely physical to something a lot more that she was way too hesitant on properly identifying. She was still trying to figure out how the hell this transpired.

How had it happened so fast? In the blink of an eye, it felt like. One moment Jo and Alex are promising they will  _ not  _ have feelings for one another and the next she’s willing her erratic heart to calm the hell down at the mere sight of Alex. It was crazy how feelings for someone snuck up on you and how hard they hit you, and the realization Jo had that she liked Alex as more than just a  _ sex … friend _ had left her breathless. Although, she’s unsure if it’s the good or bad kind because while Alex had become one of the best guys she knew, he was also unavailable. He’d told her that much at the very beginning. And she had promised it was not a problem. Until it was.

God, Jo felt pathetic.

What was just as bad is now that she was painfully aware of her  _ not-so-platonic _ feelings for Alex, she found herself subtly and as discreetly as she could manage avoiding any one-on-one time with him—unless they were, of course, having sex. She had grown to love hanging out with Alex, but now she can’t help but be super conscious of how she acted around him and had this fear that she’ll somehow let it slip that she’s attracted to him, and she couldn’t have that. Although it was hard, Alex had been spending an increasing amount of time at her place and with Jackson—just lounging on her couch or in her bed. All plans, unless they didn’t require clothing, now always accompanied Lexie and Jackson, with the odd appearance of Steph and Leah.

“Hey, you  wanna go to the movies in a few?” Jo’s shoulders tensed ever so slightly at the sound of Alex’s voice, glancing at him over her shoulder from where she stood by the counter in the kitchen preparing a Nutella sandwich. He was popping his head in from behind the entryway wall, upper half curling into the kitchen as his gaze remained on her. “Jackson and Lexie want to go see that film that you guys were talking about the other day, I know you said you wanted to see it. We can leave now and catch all of the trailers,” he added, after hearing of Jo’s love of wanting to see every preview before the movies.

_ Oh, God, that sounded a lot like a  _ **_ real  _ ** _ double date _ . Or maybe Jo was just overreacting, as always, but she didn’t want to risk it. Knowing Jackson and Lexie, they’d be wrapped up in each other during the movie leaving Jo and Alex by themselves, and that totally went against her poorly thought-out, dumb plan of keeping a some-what distance from him. Even if she really did want to watch the movie.

“Oh, um,” she blinked, neck tensing at the expectant raise of Alex’s eyebrows. “I would but I’m really tied. I was actually gonna’ take a nap after eating this,” she lied, gesturing to the sandwich as she quickly turned around and put the two pieces of bread together and capped the jar of Nutella.

Alex glanced at her sandwich, eyebrows lowering into a slight frown as a confused chuckle escaped him and he stepped around the wall to lean against it. “Seriously? Lexie said you’ve been dying to see that movie since the trailer came out.”

“Yeah, I’ll just watch it online or something, I still have some studying ...” Jo shrugged nonchalantly her words dying on her lips, dropping the dirty knife in the sink with a clang. “But you have fun.”

“Have fun?” Alex scoffed, a smile tugging at his lips as he shot me a look. “I’m  gonna ’ be third wheeling with your friends.” When his lower lip jutted out slightly, the action instantly drawing her gaze to his mouth, Jo’s stomach clenched as Alex prodded, “Are you sure you don’t wanna’ come?”

Jo inhaled quietly, pressing her lips together in an apologetic smile as she moved to walk out of the kitchen, having to walk towards Alex since he was right at the entryway. “Sorry, Alex,” she responded, sandwich in hand. “Take one of your  roommates .”

When she was right next to him, Alex turned his head to look down at her, eyes light with mirth as he told her, “They’re not nearly as fun as you.”

_ Oh, fucking hell _ . Even if he was joking around, that wasn’t helpful at all in Jo’s plan of at least trying to hide her feelings for him. Ignoring the heat rising in her cheeks, Jo quickly said, “Don’t let them hear you say that. Have fun at the movies.”

Instead of waiting for a reply, Jo offered a brief smile before hastily going to her room and shutting the door behind her, letting out a deep slow breath as she dropped herself on the bed. Taking a rather violent bite of her sandwich, Jo felt her shoulders sink in defeat. If the smallest of comments from Alex had her body going into a frenzy and her breath catching, how was she at all going to be successful in keeping her feelings for him at bay? This wasn’t going to be easy.

“You know you’re about as subtle as a neon sign.”

Jo blinked up at Jackson, frowning behind the shield of her book as the boy sat down on the couch next to her, having returned from the movies just ten minutes earlier. Alex had headed off to work and Lexie had hopped into the shower. “Huh?”

Jackson chuckled lowly, “tell me, Jo,” he spoke up once again, bringing his legs up onto the coffee table and resting his arms on the couch arms. “Do you have a thing for Alex?”

_ “Obviously.” _

“Huh?”

“We’re sleeping together.”

“That’s not what I  mean, and  _ you know it _ .”

_ What the hell? _

Jo’s jaw loosened at Jackson’s inquiry, eyes widening behind her book and heart jumping into her throat. His eyes were on hers and Jo’s shoulders tensed, taking in a sharp breath as Jackson waited for an answer. But she was too stunned and taken aback to say anything, to confirm or deny, because of  _ course  _ Jackson would sense something is up—he’d been spending a ridiculous amount of time around them both. He may be the quiet one of the four—at least, when he’s sober—but he’s  definitely the most observant; he’s always watching people, dissecting them with his eyes and mind and figuring them out like the world’s easiest math equation. Jackson seemed to read people so easily, and Jo should’ve known better than to think she would be able to hide anything from him. She spent half her time wondering how she was keeping this from Lexie.

When she didn’t say anything for a few moments too long, his lips twitched as he shrugged and assured, “It’s okay if you do.”

“No, it’s not,” she blurted, not even bothering to deny anything. All the air expelled from her lungs as Jackson quirked a brow, silently prodding her to continue as she threw the book down and looked ahead. Jo’s eyebrows lowered in a distressed frown. “He’s—I can’t ... he doesn’t want that. I feel like I’m, like, betraying myself or something.”

“Because you didn’t want a boyfriend.” His words were more of a statement than a question, yet Jo nodded anyway as she sat up, crossing her legs and picking at her unpainted nails. Jackson sighed, “you can’t help who you have feelings for, Jo.  _ So what _ ? You didn’t want a boyfriend, but that was before you met the guy.”

“It’s not that—relationships are messy already and then you add me into the situation and I—I mess everything good in my life up.”

“That’s not true,” Jackson instantly retorted matter-of-factly, effectively clamping Jo’s mouth shut as she looked at him almost helplessly. He sighed as he took in the brunette’s expression, shifting so he was sitting face her with his own legs crossed. “You and Lexie have been friends for years, she loves you—trust me, she talks about you like you’re her favorite person. It almost makes me jealous.” Jo smiles, shaking her head with a small laugh, “does this have something to do with …  _ that Jason guy? _ ”

“Maybe,” she countered, tilting her head challengingly. “Everyone said he was such a nice  guy, I mean he was charming and funny—no one had a bad word to say about him. But then he’s with me and he turns into someone else, he’s a cheater and manipulative and he—”

“Jo, that has nothing to do with you. That’s him. That’s who he really is, behind the facade.” Jackson cuts her off, frowning.

With a huff, Jo changes the conversation back to Alex, “what if I told Alex I liked him more than that? What if, hypothetically, he liked me back and we wanted to date? I’m not saying that’ll happen, because I very much doubt it, but if it did—who's to say it wouldn’t end in  disaster. That we’d end up hating one another when we might be working together in a few months' time.”

Jo saw Jackson’s eyes widen as his eyebrows shot up his forehead, full lips parting in surprise before asking, “that’s what it’s all about, taking risks. It would be nice to see how things panned out before getting yourself into  something, but half the fun is doing it for yourself.”

Jo scoffed, raspingly and a bit bitterly. “You just like having another guy around,” she joked afterwards, regretting the way she was treating him in this moment. Jo was just coming to terms with the fact that she was developing feelings for Alex, so the idea of  actually being with him was still out there—just a hopeful imagination running wild without having to deal with the consequences of sharing them with anyone. Until now, with Jackson.

Jackson’s gaze returned to her as he leaned closer, deep voice dropping low as he looked at her over his sunglasses. “I get you’re scared,” he told her. “But it’s about you and how you feel, okay? If you like Alex and you want something out of it,  _ let him know _ . Forget about all the  _ what-ifs  _ for a second—what’s the worst that could happen if you tell Alex you like him?”

Jo blinked, staring at Jackson in slight incredulity, surprised that he was pushing her on this. Honestly, she was kind of glad she had someone she could talk to this about. Jackson would never be her first choice, it would always be Lexie, she’d found recently that he was very easy to talk to; he was quiet, but he always listened and if you were one of the people he  opened up to, then something about that made the person feel special. There have been lots of moments since they finally met one another all those weeks ago, some when they were drunk off of wine, where Jackson would let Jo know  all of his thoughts and feelings and dreams, and it was a time she welcomed wholeheartedly.

But once his question settled in her mind,  Jo let out an unladylike snort and pointed out, “He might not feel the same way and totally reject me.”

Much to her surprise, a smirk curled at  Jackson ’s lips as he leaned away from her, humming out in a tone that told her he knew more than he was letting on, “Oh, I wouldn’t be so sure about that.”

Jo’s heart thudded against her chest in a particularly hard beat, eyes widening as she stared at his blue-eyes in  startlement as her stomach did an anticipated flip-flop. What the hell did that mean? The look on Jackson’s face told her he knew something that he wasn’t revealing, and that sent her curiosity skyrocketing. “What’re you talking about?”

To her chagrin, Jackson merely shrugged as he hopped to his feet, ignoring her protesting exclaims as he smirked and walked towards the bathroom, hearing the shower turn off. “Wha—Jackson! Come back!” she shouted, briefly frozen in her spot on the couch. He wasn’t sure about Alex rejecting her feelings for him? _What?_ “Jackson! Don’t think I’m letting this go!”

When he neared the bathroom door, rich laughter escaping him as he did so, Jo let out a frustrated sigh before throwing herself up off the couch, practically running towards the much taller male as she tried to catch up to him. Even when Jo caught up to him and jumped on his back, sending them both falling around the small hallway with laughter, it did nothing to get Jackson to spill whatever secrets he was holding.

“What the hell is going on?” Lexie shrieked as she threw open the bathroom door, frowning with curiosity down at the pair with a towel wrapped around her slim frame. When all she was met with was laughter, she stepped over the pair and towards her bedroom with a sigh and a smile.

Jo was convinced the best way to torture someone was by telling them they know something but not actually letting them know what that something is, leaving their imagination and thoughts to run rampant with wild curiosity. That’s exactly what Jackson was doing to her since he dropped some sort of hint the other day on her couch, and even when Jo tried to drown him in questions, he didn’t budge on telling her what he meant. But Jackson just smirked and laughed and said nothing. Asshole.

_ Why  _ did  Jackson have to say  _ I wouldn’t be so sure about that _ when Jo said that Alex wouldn’t feel the same way about her as she did about him? The potential answer to that invited the excited fluttering in her stomach to increase tenfold and heart to pick up its pace, but she wasn’t going to jump to any conclusions without having a solid answer—which  Jackson was being ridiculously secretive about. Why say something so vague? Pretty sadistic of him, in Jo’s opinion.

Every time he looked at her, Jo narrowed her eyes at him in a glare lacking any real anger or maliciousness and he merely smirked in response, knowing exactly what he was doing to her. Alex and Lexie had caught the interaction at one point, but Jo quickly looked away and didn’t give them any room to question. 

Tonight, after being back in school for a week, the weekend rolled around and Jo was hoping to get her mind  off of her raging curiosity by joining everyone in going to a club,  _ for once _ , that was only a  five minute drive from the bar. But since no one was completely dedicated to being a designated driver, they split two Ubers and arrived at the club after pregaming for a bit at the bar—where Jo would have happily stayed but Stephanie had other ideas.

As expected, the club was throbbing with life at this time of night, music playing at a deafening volume as people gathered in the middle to dance to the live DJ, off on the right to lounge on the couches and tables, or to the left where almost the entire side was taken up by the bar. There were people upstairs too, the second floor only making up the perimeter of the room as the back spilled out onto a large back deck with more couches so people could enjoy the outside weather while hearing the music from inside. Since it was on the beach, people were either hanging out on the deck or going towards the beach.

As soon as they got inside, Jo and her friends gravitated towards the bar and she was pressed between Lexie and Steph’s new _ ish _ boyfriend, Kyle, as Jackson got one of the bartender’s attention and requested a round of shots. The bass of the remixed music thrummed in Jo’s ears as everyone’s chatter mingled altogether, laughter erupted from them all following some remark Leah made trying to convince them on how playing hard to get was the perfect way to bag an older man. It was funnier because he looked so serious talking about it. Jo had to fight turning her gaze over to Alex the entire conversation.

The vodka burned down Jo’s throat once they tossed the glasses back, not even pausing as two more rounds were brought in front of them as they took those as well. As the boys ordered some drinks for themselves, Steph grabbed Jo’s and Lexie’s hands before dragging them towards the center of the room, pulling them  in the midst of the dancing crowd so they could move amongst the somewhat sweaty bodies that were already rubbing up against them. But the couple of shots of vodka, plus the few drinks Jo had taken before coming here, were already mixing with her blood and she felt  _ good _ , so dancing with her friends was exactly what she was going to do. Even though her long hair was loose, her sleeveless bodysuit and shorts didn’t let her feel too hot despite the stuffy atmosphere.

The song was some Migos remix, though everyone was yelling out the lyrics as they moved to the beat and white lights flashed to the rhythm. They must have danced to two more songs before Jo broke away from the crowd and went back to the bar at Steph’s request of getting more drinks. The guys were right where they had left them, backs against the bars and glasses in their hands as they talked and sipped while the three of them shoved themselves between the boys.

“Whoa, whoa, none for us?” Jackson demanded over the music, an amused grin spreading on his lips at the girls after they downed the first round.

Lexie smiled that flirtatious smile she only reserved for Jackson, left hand on her chest as she pulled him towards her and teased, “Only if you join me on the dance floor, babe.”

His grin widened as he pulled her closer, which at this point Jo looked away to reach for another shot glass and downed the green apple flavored liquid. Her throat no longer burned as the drink went down, placing the glass upside down on the wooden bar top. She gestured for the bartender to bring another round, wondering just how wasted she could get by the end of the night.

“You know Alex’s been wanting to dance with you all night,” Jackson’s voice spoke in Jo’s ear, when he returns from the dancefloor, low yet she could hear him clearly despite the loud music. “Avoiding him is just gonna’ make him think you hate him or want to end whatever is going on between you or … something.”

Automatically, Jo’s eyes wandered around to find the brunette, landing on Alex towards the right as he stood leaning against one of the pillars. This wasn’t really his type of  music, but he was smiling and chatting away to Kyle, watching them  actually enjoy themselves was amusing to Jo. “You know I don’t hate him,” she mumbled, tone dejected and drunkenly slow as she leaned her head against Jackson’s shoulder.

They were sitting on one of the couches on the right side of the room, right under the second-floor landing where people above and around them were dancing and having a good time. Lexie and Steph were lost somewhere in the crowd. “Then tell him that, Jo,” Jackson responded, twirling the glass he held with long fingers as the ice inside clinked around. “Just because you realized you like Alex as more than a  _ friend-with-benefits, _ doesn’t mean you have to stop acting like his friend, you know? Don’t push him away because you’re scared of the possibility of having more.”

Jo wasn’t nearly as drunk as she’d like to be to be having this conversation, and not for the first time did  Jo curse her ability to hold her alcohol well. She didn’t know how many drinks she’s downed so far, but the most she was feeling was a little heaviness in her head and mild sluggishness. She was still painfully aware of every word she said and every thought she processed.

Which is why  Jackson ’s words were settled in her mind like wet cement; sinking and hardening as she realized he was right. Jo was being dumb by trying to push Alex away just because she was scared—not scared of telling Alex, but scared of finding out how he felt, of feeling like she was betraying Charlotte. Seriously, what kind of friend went after their friend’s ex, knowing they have some unresolved issues with them? But try as she might, Jo couldn’t kill the butterflies that erupted when Alex smiled or relax the quickening of her heart when his eyes met hers. There was no stopping any of that, and it dizzied her how fast her feelings intensified over the past few days.

“How do you know he wants to dance with me?” she found herself asking, hoping her tone was quiet enough for only  Jackson to hear, which wasn’t a problem since Alex was a few feet away and the music was deafeningly loud.

“You  kidding ?” Jackson chortled deeply in mild amusement after taking a sip of his drink, his shaking shoulders causing Jo’s head to move right along with them. “He couldn’t keep his eyes  off of you when you were on the dance floor. He was watching your every move. You guys have been doing this  _ thing  _ for quite a few weeks now,  _ so I  _ _ know, _ _ and you know it’s not just lust _ .”

Jo’s mouth dried at that, feeling the familiar quickening of her heart as her eyes flickered over to Alex. He was talking to Kyle, a grin on his face as they remained shadows of two men due to the pillar they were against, the flashing white lights in the center not reaching them. He was watching her? _Oh, my God—he was watching me?_ What did that _mean_? _Fuck, she sounded like a teenage girl_.

As if reading her thoughts, Jackson mused, “You wanna’ know why I said what I said that day after the movies?”

This time her heart jumped in her throat, causing  Jo to croak out an instant, “Yes.”

He took a breath, chest expanding as she kept her head against his shoulder, not daring to move until she heard him reply. The music seemed like nothing but background noise, an irritating sound Jo wished she could drown out. Finally, Jackson confessed, “Because he told me, a few days after dinner at Thatcher’s, about how he feels about you.”

His words had Jo immediately lifting her head and leaning away from Jackson, staring at him with widened eyes as she remained frozen where she sat. He merely looked back at her, brown eyes glinting against the light, raising his eyebrows as if to say  _ I said what I said _ while Jo just sat with an expression of confused shock etched across her face. Alex told Jackson how he feels about her? What does he feel?  _ Also, how does a friendship between two guys develop that fast _ ? Once again, as if reading her thoughts, Jackson smirked and said, “You’re  gonna have to find out from him exactly what.”

That snapped Jo out of her incredulity, eyebrows lowering and lips forming a pout as she gripped his arm, shaking it as she whined, “ Jackson !”

But the  black-haired boy shook his head, smirk widening in delight of withholding information from his friend. “Nope, ask him,” he said, eyes flickering over her shoulder before he jutted his chin. “I’d ask him now, if I were you. Looks like he’s headed out back.”

Jo instantly looked over her shoulder, catching sight of Alex walking away from Ashton and making him way around the crowd towards one of the doors to the back area, and Jo let out a heavy breath at the sight of his broad retreating back. Oh, God— _ should  _ she ask him? Part of her knew that, judging by Jackson’s expression and words, whatever Alex may have to say would be exactly what she’d want to hear, but the other part of her was terrified of that being true. If Jo told Alex she liked him and he told her he liked her, then what? … would they  _ date _ ?  _ Would that be so horrible _ ?

“Fucking hell, Jo, just go after him,”  Jackson groaned pleadingly, making her look back at him with wide eyes as he gestured to the back with his free hand. “Go! Stop overthinking everything and just do it.”

Jo stared at Jackson for a few moments, worry clear on her face as she chewed her lower lip and probably ate off whatever little lipstick she had left. She was overthinking, she knew, but she couldn’t help it. Tipsy or not, Jo had to think this through. Jo knew it wouldn’t be that easy.

But the further and further Alex currently walked away from her, the more rapid Jo’s heart got and increased the desire to run after him. Suddenly she felt completely sober, even if she  actually wasn’t , and she quickly said to  Jackson , “Don’t tell anyone,” before getting up and  following after Alex, not even bothering to wonder if  Jackson knew she meant for him not to tell anyone anything about her and Alex. He probably did.

Jo pushed through a bunch of people, muttering out apologies and excuse  me’s as she neared the back entryway  Alex had disappeared through moments earlier. She was glad she had decided not to wear heels because she probably would’ve tripped over her own feet with how fast she was moving to get to  Alex .

It wasn’t hard to spot him when she finally stepped outside, taking in a breath as she welcomed the openness of being outdoors rather than inside the stuffy club as she glanced around, blinking through the mild lethargic heaviness her head felt. It was much more chill out here, people chatting and drinking and lounging on the outdoor patio or walking down the few steps that lead to the beach. Alex was in the front corner, looking out to the beach as the torches that were spread around the porch bannister provided a glowing light to the area.

Jo’s hands weren’t  sweaty, but she still rubbed them down her shorts as she began walking over to the tall brunette, ignoring the chill her exposed arms and legs felt as she swallowed nervously, weaving around a few lingering people until she reached him. “Hey,” Jo greeted, sneaking up to his left as her hands gripped the metal railing.

The ice in his glass of vodka on the rocks clinked as he lowered it from his mouth, looking over at her in mild surprise.  Alex was leaning forward, arms resting on the railing as his lips curled upwards slightly. “Hey.” He glanced around the area, raising an eyebrow. “Needed a breather?”

“Yeah,” Jo answered with an airy laugh, leaning with her left arm on the railing, body towards  Alex yet looking out towards the beach. The sound of the waves was distant over the music, the smell of the salty sea mingling with the alcohol making for a sharp, pungent scent. “Way too stuffy inside—isn’t that why you’re out here?”

A lazy smile curled at the corner of  Alex ’s lips, shrugging one shoulder as he vaguely answered, “More or less.” 

Jo hummed, side against the railing as she folded her arms in attempt to hug herself to shield her body from a particularly chilly breeze that blew against them, her straightened hair flying slightly. Wearing a deep cut, sleeveless bodysuit and shorts wasn’t as good of an idea if she was outside, fighting against the wind. As if sensing her discomfort, Alex glanced over at her, taking in her stance before resting his glass on the railing and pulling back his arms to shrug off the black jacket he was wearing, he held it behind Jo and draped it over her shoulders.

Her gaze flickered up to him, breathing stilled at the newfound proximity as his fingers drifted down to grip the front of the jacket, head bent slightly to look down at Jo thanks to his above average height. He was swaying ever so faintly with the wind as his dark eyes met Jo’s brown, and she knew she had to breathe again but with him looking at her so intensely, the action seemed impossible. But she managed to, inhaling softly as Alex’s familiarly pleasant coconut and aftershave scent engulfed her, a welcome change from the alcohol she had been smelling inside.

Alex didn’t pull away from her, standing close. “Are you sure that’s the only reason  _ you  _ came out here?” he finally asked, deep voice a raspy murmur as he didn’t dare break their gaze. “Because it’s too stuffy inside?”

His words had a meaningful, purposeful tilt into them raising a pointed eyebrow as his fingers remained gripping the jacket to keep her in place. Jo rolled her lower lip into her mouth, unable to break her gaze from  Alex ’s paralyzing one. The embers of the small fires on the tiki torches danced in his light eyes, golden against them and melting Jo on the spot. She was so focused on his gaze that she barely registered his question and when she did, Jo felt herself swallowing inaudibly in attempt to loosen the tightness in her chest. 

Obviously, that wasn’t the only reason she was out here—honestly it wasn’t even a reason. The sole objective was to get to Alex, to talk to him and hopefully muster up the nerve to tell him how she felt, just like Jackson had been urging. Maybe the alcohol she had drank throughout the night would provide for some liquid courage, but the way Alex’s gaze was fixated on Jo had her brain short circuiting and proving it difficult to form words.

“I—No, that’s not—I’m not—”  _ Fucking smooth, Jo _ . She was stumbling like an idiot over her words because the way  Alex was looking at her truly was messing her up, feeling the heat  rise up her neck and spread across her cheeks. The sleeves of his jacket were long on her arms, hiding the way her fingers of both hands were picking at her newly yellow painted nails in anxious nerves.  _ Just tell him. Stop freezing yourself with worry over everything else—just tell him. Speak now and worry later. _

Apparently, Alex found her stammering amusing as a boyish, lower-lip-biting grin took over his face, showing off his dimples and effectively stealing Jo’s breath. She wondered if Alex knew how handsome he was and how his smile could maybe, possibly end all wars.

He was getting closer, she could feel it, along with the fact that his hands were now sliding up and holding the sides of her neck in a gentle touch, the metals of his rings cool against her heated skin as his fingers slid slightly into her hair. The sounds of people  chattering, and music playing was taken over by the thundering of her heart, breath unsteady as barely an inch remained between Alex and Jo, his nose brushing against hers once he leaned in, his own uneven breathing mingling with her own. Was he as nervous, anticipating the next few moments as she was? The ends of some of his curls were tickling Jo’s cheek as Alex surprised her by whispering, “I need you to say it, Jo.”

His gaze was practically impaling her and she found herself glancing down at his lips—pink and soft looking and full—as she swallowed and muttered breathlessly, “Say what?”

The pads of  Alex ’s thumbs brushed against Jo’s cheekbones. Was the music still playing? Neither of them could hear it, attention solely on each other. His gaze flickered to her lips, mirroring her action. “You know what.”

Jo’s hands, which had been nervously at her sides, finally moved as she lightly fisted the front of his black tee, and she spoke the first three words that popped in her head. “Kiss me,  Alex .”

He didn’t have to be told twice because the second those words escaped Jo,  Alex leaned towards her and she met him in the middle, eyes shutting at the first touch of his lips against hers. Honest to God, it felt like she was exploding as  Alex ’s lips moved surprisingly slowly, softly against her own. Suddenly it wasn’t just Jo’s sense of smell that was taken captive by  Alex —he had taken over everything. She felt the languid movements of his lips and the tender touch of his hands against her cheeks and in her hair, the taste of vodka welcome only because it was coming from  Alex .

It was a slow, sucking kiss that tightened Jo’s grip on his shirt but ended way too quickly with  Alex pulling away. But he didn’t put much distance between the two as Jo’s eyes dazedly opened, staring up at him with a parted mouth and slightly widened eyes.  Alex ’s blue eyes were  _ looking  _ at her; like he was taking in every feature on her face for the first time as his gaze flickered all over, and for a moment Jo felt a bit unsure of herself because of the pure intensity of his staring, which was doing the exact opposite of slowing her heart rate down. 

Jo felt light on her feet, the heaviness in her head dissipating after that kiss because, shit, it was everything she could’ve hoped for and more.  Alex ’s lips were softer than she imagined, the touch of his hands cupping her cheeks gentle and comforting, so much so that she didn’t want him to let go.

Then Alex’s lips curled upwards in a smile that showed off his teeth and dimples and Jo instantly mirrored it an automatic response. Elated gaze once again meeting his, she felt the air rush back into her lungs in time for Alex to press his lips against hers in a kiss of much more fervor, like he was putting every ounce of his feelings into it. 

**Author's Note:**

> idk what this is or where it came from but enjoy and please let me know what you think :)


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